The Shape of a Life Lived for Him

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago, and it was not going well. Someone was questioning a project I cared about. I could feel my body react before my mind did. My chest got tight. My answers became short. I was defensive. I was trying to protect my idea, and really, I was trying to protect myself.

Later that night, I was replaying the conversation. I felt that familiar, heavy sigh.

It’s the sigh of the gap.

It’s the gap between the man I want to be and the man I still am. I love Jesus. I have given my life to follow Him. But in that moment, I did not look like Him. I looked like me. I looked defensive, proud, and a little bit afraid.

Maybe you know that feeling. It’s the impatience you feel in a long grocery line. It’s the sharp word you say to your spouse or kids when you are tired. It’s the quiet envy you feel when someone else gets the success you wanted.

It’s the gap. And it can be discouraging. We ask ourselves, "Why am I still like this? Will I ever really change?"

We talk a lot about "living for Jesus." But what does that truly mean? We often think it means doing a list of things for Him. Go to church. Read the Bible. Serve. Do not do certain sins. These are all good things. But they are not the goal. They are the result of the goal.

God's ultimate plan for your life is not just your activity. It's your identity.

From the very beginning, before you even existed, God's plan was clear. He decided "to predestine [us] to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29).

Read that again. The goal is not just to be forgiven by Jesus. The goal is to be like Jesus.

God is not just trying to get you into heaven. He is trying to get heaven into you. He is saving you, yes. But He is saving you for something. He is saving you for restoration. He is painstakingly, patiently, and lovingly shaping your heart, your character, your reactions, and your desires until they look like His Son.

This is the great work of discipleship. It is not just learning what Jesus taught. It is becoming who Jesus is.

So how does this happen? How do we close the gap?

Our first instinct is to try harder. We make new resolutions. "Tomorrow, I will be more patient. I will be more loving. I will not get defensive." We grit our teeth and try to muscle our way into maturity.

But this journey is not about trying harder. It is about surrendering deeper.

The secret to transformation is not striving. It is beholding.

The Apostle Paul gives us the key. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, he says, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

This is one of the most beautiful truths in all of Scripture. We are changed by what we gaze at.

We "are being transformed." It is a passive verb. It is something done to us, not by us. Our job is not to transform ourselves. Our job is to behold. The Holy Spirit's job is to do the transforming.

When we fill our gaze with the glory of Jesus, the Spirit begins to chisel away the old parts. He begins to rewire our hearts. We are changed "from one degree of glory to another." It is not instant. It is a process. It is a slow, steady change.

So, what does it mean to "behold" Him in our everyday lives?

First, we behold Him in His Word. We must stop reading the Bible just for information or to win an argument. We must start reading it to see Him. When you read the Gospels, ask: What does this show me about His heart? Look at His compassion for the outcast. Look at His patience with His disciples. Look at His resolve in the face of suffering. We look at Him until we start to see the world like He sees it.

Second, we behold Him in prayer. Prayer is not just giving God our wish list. It is learning to be quiet with Him. It is sitting in His presence and simply enjoying Him. It is in the quiet that we unclench our fists. We confess the moments we looked like our old selves. We ask Him, "Jesus, show me more of you. I give you permission to change me."

Third, we behold Him in community. This is why our Pathway small groups are not just a nice add-on. They are essential. We cannot become like Jesus on our own. We need each other. When I see you practice forgiveness, I get a clearer picture of Jesus. When you gently point out my blind spot, I am seeing Jesus through you. We are the mirrors that help each other see Him more clearly.

This is what living for Jesus looks like on a Tuesday.

It means that difficult person at work is not just a problem. They are an opportunity for the character of Christ to be formed in you. That moment of temptation is not a trap. It is a test of what you truly behold. That act of service, when you are tired and no one is watching, is you walking as He walked (1 John 2:6).

This journey of transformation is the heart of our mission.

Our vision is "Until Christ Is Known Everywhere." But how will He be known? The world is not waiting for a better argument or a fancier program. The world is starving to see a true, clear, and compelling picture of Jesus.

We are that picture.

He will not be known everywhere until He is first known in us.

Our lives are the blog post the world is reading. Our small groups are the living proof that His love is real. Our patience, our humility, our peace, our joy. These are the things that make a watching world stop and ask, "Why are you like this?"

Then we get to tell them. We get to point them to the One we are beholding.

So let’s give up the exhausting work of trying to be better. Let’s take up the beautiful work of simply beholding Him. Let's fix our eyes on Jesus. Let's fill our minds with His Word. Let's practice His way in our communities.

Let's allow the Spirit to do His work. He will shape us. He will change us. He will close the gap. And as He does, our very lives will become the pathway for others to find Him.