What Does It Mean to Be Christ-like?
We can speak of becoming Christlike as the process by which we, as believers, are conformed to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This likeness is especially in relation to obedience to and trust in God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the beloved Son of God, who is set before us as a model of the form of the redeemed life. Every Christian should have the desire to become more like Christ and believe that we are encouraged to strive for this because it is God’s desire for each and every one of us. In the letter to the Romans we read:
“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified” (Rom 8: 28-30).
Jesus Christ died to enable us to have the freedom to make moral choices so we could share his divine life forever; we are all called to be Christ-like. The word morality refers to the standards by which we judge our actions to be good or evil, and the moral law is the phrase used to describe the objective standards authored by God and taught by Catholic authority. In other words, the moral law is a work of divine Wisdom; it prescribes the ways and the rules of conduct that lead to the promised beatitude and it forbids the ways that turn away from God.
CCC 1953: “The moral law finds its fullness and its unity in Christ. Jesus Christ is in person the way of perfection. He is the end of the law, for only he teaches and bestows the justice of God: "For Christ is the end of the law, that everyone who has faith may be justified."
The natural law which is inscribed by the Creator placed on the heart of every person consists in a participation in the wisdom and the goodness of God. It expresses that original moral sense which enables one to discern by reason the good and the bad. It is universal and immutable and determines the basis of the duties and fundamental rights of the person as well as those of the human community and civil law.
Christian morality distinguishes itself from ethical systems based on natural morality as well as non-Christian beliefs. For example, humanism is a moral system that denies belief in God and views humanity as the highest form of existence. Its end is to provide man with a way of life that will help him reach happiness on earth, but it denies or ignores the question of the existence of an afterlife. Since humanists reject the idea or belief in a supernatural being such as God, they class themselves as agnostic or atheist.
CCC 1956: “The natural law, present in the heart of each man and established by reason, is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It expresses the dignity of the person and determines the basis for his fundamental rights and duties: For there is a true law: right reason. It is in conformity with nature, is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense… To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely.”
Christianity, on the other hand, is the unveiling of the mystery of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ, who is the son. God is mystery beyond words, but Christianity is the communication of divine life and knowledge to man. Consequently, the acknowledgment and worship of a Triune God aides us in discovering the correct moral approach.
CCC 261 & 262: “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and of Christian life. God alone can make it known to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Incarnation of God's Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father the Son is one and the same God.”
Jesus did not come as a moralist, but as the incarnate love of God. He did not come to replace one set of rules with another, but to promote a new way of living. Jesus came to teach us how to identify so entirely with himself that we could demonstrate to others the saving life of God. Christianity then, is not merely a morality, but a revelation that unveils the being of God as Father and his relation to human beings, who are his children. It is an invitation to share the love that can be experienced only by sharing in God’s own life. Because of sin the natural law is not always perceived nor is it recognized by everyone with equal clarity and immediacy. For this reason God "wrote the tables of the Law what men did not read in their hearts." (Saint Augustine)
—Deacon Gerry Flamm
“Dear children! May this time be a time of prayer for peace. I am calling you to renew in your families the prayer of the Rosary for my intentions, so that I may be able to multiply your prayers and intercede for you before the Most High, [for Him] to heed your prayers and to give you peace. I am with you and like never before I pray for you and with you, my little children. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
