Certainly no one would deny that there is nothing but character that
we can carry out of life with us, and that our prospect of good in any future life will
certainly vary with the resemblance of our character to that of Jesus Christ, which is
to rule the whole future. We all admit that; but almost every one of us offers to
himself some apology for not being like Christ, and has scarcely any clear reality of
aim of becoming like Him. Why, we say to ourselves, or we say in our practice, it is
really impossible in a world such as ours is to become perfectly holy. One or two
men in a century may become great saints; given a certain natural disposition and
given exceptionally favouring circumstances, men may become saintly; but surely
the ordinary run of men, men such as we know ourselves to be, with secular
disposition and with many strong, vigorous passions—surely we can really not be
expected to become like Christ, or, if it is expected of us, we know that it is
impossible. On the contrary, Paul says, “We all,†“we all.†Every Christian has that
for a destiny: to be changed into the image of his Lord. And he not only says so, but
in this one verse he reveals to us the mode of becoming like Christ, and a mode, as
we shall find, so simple and so infallible in its working that a man cannot
understand it without renewing his hope that even he may one day become like
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