“It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it — I can’t. And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it — I can’t. But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me, then I could write plays like this. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come into me, then I could live a life like that. This is the secret of Christian sanctity. It is not that we should strive to live like Jesus, but that he by his Spirit should come and live in us. To have him as our example is not enough; we need him as our Saviour” (John R. W. Stott).

That’s the key, isn’t it? It’s not me trying harder, but Jesus living inside of me. It’s Jesus living the same kind of life He lived almost 2,000 years ago, but this time through my hands and feet. Will it ever be perfectly played out this side of heaven? No, because my flesh will always get in the way. Still, my life will still be much, much better than it would have been apart from Christ. And the closer I get to hreaven, the more my life will look like Christ’s life and the more I will look like Jesus.