We are made in the divine image, yet, we have to pursue the divine image. Even after we are born of the Spirit we must pursue it; without the Spirit we will fall short of it. Without the pursuit of it our growth is stymied. Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Looking at Him and to Him is the path. Christlikeness is the goal and sanctification is its process.
Below is my favorite poem; it moves me to the core. Man is used in a generic sense, so ladies please insert “Looking for the woman I want to be”.
LOOKING FOR THE MAN I WANT TO BE
*By Dr. Charles Childers
I’ve started today an earnest quest
For a man I’ve never seen,
And though he means all the world to me
He’s a man who has never been.
But I’ll follow my quest relentlessly
Till his face and form I see,
For the man whom I seek so earnestly
Is the man that I want to be.
The man whom I seek has a heart of love
Where selfishness has no place,
And all that he wants is his Master’s will
–To reflect God’s love and grace.
And though it may seem that such a man
So little resembles me
I’ll never cease to seek the man
That I want so much to be.
The man I seek is not a man
Poured in the common mold,
A picture of conformity
For all men to behold.
God does not have a mold for men,
But through divine release
He helps us bloom into ourselves,
A unique masterpiece.
I’ve never seen a man on earth
Just like the man I seek,
Though I’ve met many a noble soul,
Seen many a manly physique.
The man I seek is not a man
Of noble pedigree;
He’s simply me, myself, plus God,
That’s all I want to be.
But there is One whose visage fills
The vision of my quest,
The one whose image I would have
Stamped deep within my breast,
And when I find the man I seek,
The man I want to be,
Then I can live so all will know
That Jesus lives in me.
*Inspired by a Trevecca Chapel message delivered by Reuben Welch, October 17, 1963
