Becoming a “Little Christ”

What are you doing for Mother’s Day? I’m remembering. When my children were little, we cherished our time at the beach in Destin, Florida with my mom and grandmothers—three women on whose shoulders I stand. I give thanks today for their impact on my life and my children’s lives. Sometimes we refer to my Grandma Irene as “Saint Irene.” Indeed, for my entire life, until she was well into her eighties, I’d look Grandma in the eyes and say, “Grandma, when I grow up, I want to be just like you.” Surely, I always sensed that Grandma didn’t quite know how to receive these words, but they were true to my heart. When I looked at Grandma, I saw a reflection of Jesus. Now that I am a grandma, I wonder, “Am I becoming a little Christ?”

I only know a little about what it’s like to receive such thoughts and words and have someone think of me as a saint.

When my youngest daughter was little, she would write encouraging notes to the family. I often found one addressed to me by the kitchen sink or on my bedroom pillow. Every time, she would sign it,

“Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be just like you.”

My heart would melt. Every. Single. Time. This happened frequently until she turned ten. At age ten, a child’s brain switches as children move from concrete thinking to more abstract and formal reasoning. Undeniably, this became evident when I received my first letter from her, which was signed, “Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be almost like you.”

The italics are mine.

Yes, I cried.

My reign of “Saint Carmen” was short-lived. Instead of seeing me as a perfect mommy, she began to reason—and rightly so—that her mommy had flaws she did not want to mirror. I wonder what she saw. When she said, “I want to be almost like you,” what habits, behaviors, or attitudes did she want to emulate, and what did she want to avoid? Curious minds want to know! I highly suspect it was related to areas of my life shaped by Christ and those that were not.

For my grandma, I only saw what I wanted to emulate. Her crown of “saint” never tarnished in my eyes and has only grown brighter as I grow older. To me, she was the picture of Christ. In some ways, my saying, “Grandma, when I grow up, I want to be just like you,” translated to, “Jesus, when I grow up, I want to be just like you.”

C. S. Lewis would no doubt call Grandma “a little Christ.”

In his book Mere Christianity, Lewis says,

“Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.”

Mere Christianity, page 166

He explains that the whole purpose of the Church is to raise up little Christs:

“In the same way, the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time; God became Man for no other purpose.”

Mere Christianity, page 186

Lewis nabbed my attention.

In essence, Lewis sends up a flare as a warning to me and our SIMPLY BIBLE community. He declares Bible study a waste of time unless it helps to form someone into a little Christ. If you love Bible study like I do, this should cause us to hit pause and reflect.

Am I becoming more like Christ? Are we becoming more like Jesus?

How do we know? Looking back, we can ask Jesus to help us see if we are thinking, speaking, and acting more like Him. Am I more like Jesus than I was five years ago? In that case, would others affirm this in me, particularly those I live with? What fruit is there?

I pose these questions to my own heart. Likewise, as the author of SIMPLY BIBLE studies, I am also wondering, “Is SIMPLY BIBLE helping others to be formed into little Christs?” 

The answer is yes and no.

Truly, through SIMPLY BIBLE, God has blessed me with a window into His work of heart transformation. I have witnessed spiritual formation occurring organically in women’s lives within the SIMPLY BIBLE community. The proof is in the pudding: multiplication. Friendships with Jesus have taken root, deepened, and flourished, leading to a heightened sensitivity to His Spirit and a willingness to walk in His love. These women are beautifully alive! They have become magnets for others to know Jesus. They radiate Christ, embodying His love, joy, and peace, and actively invite and welcome others to the table. How does this process unfold, and why doesn’t it occur with everyone?

I believe Lewis provides us with a good clue:

“Put right out of your head the idea that these are only fancy ways of saying that Christians are to read what Christ said and try to carry it out–as a man may read what Plato or Marx said and try to carry it out.”

Mere Christianity, page 178

See how Lewis clarifies that one cannot simply read Scripture and attempt to implement it? In the same way, we cannot read the instructions as if we were baking a cake and then actually bake the cake. Becoming a little Christ involves dying to self.

The Apostle Paul declares:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

John the Baptist explains it this way:

“He [Jesus] must increase; I must decrease.”

John 3:30

Lewis eloquently explains this idea:

“A real Person, Christ, here and now, in that very room where you are saying your prayers, is doing things to you. It is not a question of a good man who died two thousand years ago. It is a living Man still as much a man as you, and still as much God as He was when He created the world, really coming and interfering with your very self; killing the old natural self in you and replacing it with the kind of self He has. At first, only for moments. Then for longer periods. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing; into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge, and eternity.”

Mere Christianity, pages 178-179

Friends, Paul had this very idea when he explained to his beloved congregation in Galatia:

“My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…”

Galatians 4:19

On behalf of our SIMPLY BIBLE community, I’d like to explore the process of becoming a little Christ.

In this upcoming blog series, I’d like us to reflect on what it means to be a little Christ, how we can become one, and how we can assist others in doing the same. Studying the Bible is essential. However, Bible study must evolve beyond merely knowing about God. Instead, it should focus on enjoying and experiencing Jesus—deepening our friendship with Him to become like Him. This is my heart for every person who picks up a SIMPLY BIBLE book: that we may be transformed into little Christs.

Formally, we refer to this process as spiritual formation.

Interestingly, the term “spiritual formation” does not appear anywhere in Scripture. Paul’s exclamation in Galatians 4:19 comes closest:

“…I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…”

In the Christian world, spiritual formation is a somewhat modern term akin to producing disciples of Jesus. Sometimes we have checklists and programs to create little Christs. Imagine what it would look like to have a Jesus factory. Is there a quick and easy process? The maximizer in me wishes there were. We could pray: Lord, make us like you! Then, we all march into the factory and come out looking just like Jesus.

Don’t we wish it were so easy to become a little Christ!

In some ways, that factory represents the Christian life itself, a series of trials that refine our faith so that we might glorify Jesus. The process is certainly not an easy, quick fix. Eugene Peterson called it “a long obedience in the same direction.” Yet, God, in His grace, doesn’t leave us in the dark to figure out spiritual formation alone. He offers us His Word. The Bible serves as our manual for living through the trials like Christ and for Christ. 

Please join me as we explore how SIMPLY BIBLE can serve as a valuable guide to becoming “little Christs.”

May our hearts cry together, “Jesus, when we grow up, we want to be just like you!”

Lord Jesus, here are our hearts and minds. You are the Potter and we are the clay. Form us and make us into little Christs.