Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:7-11

If someone asks you what you want to be, tell them you want to be a saint. As a Christian it should be your highest priority in life. The essence of sainthood is simply to be like Jesus. Paul told us that the overarching purpose of God the Father is to make us like His Son.

God does not want us to wait passively until we enter heaven for that supernatural transformation to take place. We are to be cooperating with the Holy Spirit to grow more and more like Christ on earth.

We are already saints by faith in Christ Jesus. But each day we face the challenge of becoming what we are – Christlike in every area of our lives.

To belong to Christ is to be a saint;

To live like a saint is to be like Christ.

Our Daily Bread – October 7, 2004