“A true and faithful Christian does not make holy living an accidental thing. It is his great concern. As the business of the soldier is to fight, so the business of the Christian is to be like Christ.” Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).

Lots of people make New Year’s Resolutions, many of which will have to do with losing weight or exercising more. I’d like to suggest a more significant resolution. In the quote above, Jonathan Edwards says to be Christ-like should be the “great concern” of every true and faithful Christian. For Christians, this should be a high priority 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year, all our life — a powerful, profound resolution for every year! 

Christ-like character can be gained from studying Christ, his life and his own priorities. When we do so, we will see that it was the will of the Father and the truth of the Scriptures that motivated him. One suggestion then, is that you read the four Gospel accounts through several times this year. Besides reading of Jesus’ life and listening to his teaching in the Gospels, let me offer the following quotes to guide you along in a greater knowledge of God and His will for your life. (Suggestion: besides the suggestion to read through the Gospels, save these quotes and read through them each week of the year.)

“There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve Him, boldness to share Him, and contentment in Him.” — J. I. Packer

“Faith is not an instinct. It certainly is not a feeling — feelings don’t help much when you’re in the lions’ den or hanging on a wooden Cross. Faith is not inferred from the happy way things work. It is an act of will, a choice, based on the unbreakable Word of a God who cannot lie, and who showed us what love and obedience and sacrifice mean, in the person of Jesus Christ.” — Elisabeth Elliot

“It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end. So that when you and I come to lie upon our death beds, the one thing that should comfort and help and strengthen us there is the thing that helped us in the beginning. Not what we have been, not what we have done, but the Grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace wondrous grace. By the grace of God I am what I am. Yet not I, but the Grace of God which was with me.” — D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” — Corrie Ten Boom

“The call to follow Christ always means a call to share the work of forgiving men their sins. Forgiveness is the Christlike suffering which it is the Christian’s duty to bear.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by acceptance. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.” — Rebeca Manley Pippert

“All of us have areas of weakness. God wants these character flaws to show us how totally dependent we are upon Him. When we handle them properly, they drive us into a deeper, more intimate relation-ship with the Lord. But uncontrolled weakness wreaks havoc in a person’s life.” — Charles Stanley

“What do we want? What would we be doing? What do our souls desire? Is it not that we might have a more full, clear, stable comprehension of the wisdom, love, grace, goodness, holiness, righteousness, and power of God, as declared and exalted in Christ unto our redemption and eternal salvation?” — John Owen.

Rev. Randy Crane is the pastor at Waldensian Presbyterian Church in Monett. He may be reached at [email protected].