I've heard people say that we ought to try to be like Jesus, but how is that possible? After all, He was sinless, wasn't He? But we certainly aren't sinless, so how can we be like Him? — T.McN.

We will only be completely and fully like Jesus Christ when we get to heaven, for only then will we be completely free from sin's grip. Then, the Bible says, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't seek to be like Him right now -- because we should! I sometimes think of it this way. When I was young, people occasionally said that I was like my father. What they meant was that I looked somewhat like him, and I probably had some of his personality traits also. I wasn't him -- but I bore a family resemblance to him, and people could tell we were related.

In a far greater way, you and I are called to resemble Jesus Christ -- not physically, but in our character and our personality. Do others see something of Jesus in you and me? Do they see His sacrificial love for others? His patience and peace? His integrity and honesty? God's plan for us, the Bible says, is that we would "be conformed to the likeness of his Son" (Romans 8:29).

How does this happen? It happens as we submit our lives to Christ and allow His Spirit to begin transforming us from within. The Bible says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing your mind" (Romans 12:2). Make this your goal in life -- beginning today.