A Christward Trajectory

“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:6 (ESV) Look around, and the need for God becomes unmistakable. Confusion shouts. Self is praised. Love wears thin. Truth bends. In days like these, we do not need a lighter faith. We need to seek the Lord with greater hunger: in His Word, in prayer, and in the company of His people.

As we seek Him, we make space for growth.

But spiritual growth is not just about strength, resilience, or resisting sin. These matter, but they are not the whole. God not only rescues us from sin. He shapes us into the likeness of His Son.

John gives us a searching test. If we claim to abide in Christ, we must walk as He walked. This is not a call to become saviours. Nor is it a summons to imitation by our own strength. It is the life of Christ, seen more and more in the lives of His people.

Sanctification is not self-improvement dressed in religious words. It is the gracious work of God, by His Spirit, forming Christ within us. It reaches our desires, our attitudes, our words, our choices, our relationships, even our hidden motives.

The follower of Jesus does not only believe differently. By grace, over time, we begin to walk differently.

Here we must be honest before the Lord.

If I say I believe, what does my path reveal? Have I grown in the past year? In two? In five? Am I becoming more patient, more humble, more loving, more obedient, more surrendered to the Spirit? Or have I settled into old patterns, old excuses, and a quiet distance from God?

These are not questions to condemn. They are questions to awaken. The Lord reveals what He means to heal. He convicts, not to crush, but to draw us near. Grace does not leave us as it finds us. It forgives, receives, and patiently teaches us to walk in the steps of Jesus.

Paul warned that in the last days, people would love self above all. That danger is not only outside the church. It can slip quietly into our own hearts. We may speak of faith, yet let life revolve around comfort, preference, image, or desire. We may long for Christ’s blessings, yet resist His likeness.

But the Christian life is not centred on us.

It is centred on Jesus.

Even our love for neighbour finds its meaning in Him. We love because He first loved us. We love because His Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts. We love because Christlike love glorifies the Father and prepares us as we wait for the Bridegroom.

To walk as Jesus walked is to grow in humility, mercy, truth, obedience, endurance, and sacrificial love. It is to let His mind shape ours, His compassion soften our hearts, His holiness confront what still resists Him within us.

Jesus walked in perfect dependence on the Father. He served when others sought status. He forgave when others accused. He spoke truth without cruelty. He showed mercy without compromise. He loved with purity, strength, and surrender.

The more we abide in Him, the more His way becomes the pattern for our own.

There is comfort here. Christ is the standard, but the strength is not ours alone. The Spirit who reveals Jesus also forms His character in us. Our part is to abide, surrender, obey, repent, and keep turning our hearts toward Him.

This does not happen in a moment. Some growth is slow. Some change takes time. Some places in the heart resist longer than we wish. Yet the Spirit is faithful. The same Lord who saved us still shapes us. He does not begin a work of grace only to leave it unfinished.

This week, do not only ask God to help you endure. Ask Him to make you more like Jesus. Open the Word with a willing heart. Pray with honesty. Stay close to godly fellowship. Let the Spirit search you, strengthen you, correct you, and shape you.

May our confession be seen in our walk. May our lives reflect the One in whom we abide.

Shalom, Jacques