Devotion by Kelvin Tan (Zone Supervisor)
Acts 17:28 (NIV)
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
The word “being” means the very nature or essence of a person—his existence.
Thus, when we say, “I want to BE like Jesus”, we are not talking about copying what Jesus did. We are saying that we want to have the exact nature and essence of Christ; so much so that God’s ways become our ways, and His thoughts, our thoughts.
Earlier this year, when Pastor Kong preached about theosis and spiritual union, he shared that we will become transformed into Christlikeness through intimacy with Him.
This brings to mind the disciples who experienced Jesus up close and personal. In Acts 4:13, we see that,
Acts 4:13 (NIV)
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
By this time, Jesus was already risen and no longer on the earth. Yet, the crowd recognised that Peter and John must have been with Jesus because they carried His same nature and essence.
I often wonder, can our friends, colleagues, or classmates recognise that you have been with Jesus?
We are all known as human BEINGS, and not human DOINGS. Yet, so often in our lives, we are constantly being judged and appraised by society for what we DO. Our value and worth are tagged to our actions, and we are given little credit for who we ARE (as a person).
In a culture where attention and validation are given to those at the top, God looks at a person differently. I Sam 16:7 says that while Man looks at the outward, God looks at the heart.
To desire Christlikeness and to become like Jesus, we need to consider what will Jesus do in our situation or circumstance.
The Chinese characters for the word “consider” is体贴。
贴：Stick closely
体：Body
人：Man
本：Root, origin, source, basis.
In other words, when I consider Jesus in all I do, Christ becomes my ROOT / ORIGIN / SOURCE.
Only through that, will I be able to fully live, move, and have my being in Christ alone.