“If I was God, I would…” Have you ever begun a sentence like that? Many of us have, and maybe you have gone as far as to say, “If I was God, I would do things differently.” The good news is, we are not God, though from the beginning of man’s time, we have pursued such a status.

If nothing else, we all have wanted God’s job at one time or another!
We want to exact vengeance on our enemies.
We want our will to be the only and right way.
We want to be in control of everything.
We want to know everything.
We think our wisdom is sound and just.
We want fame and glory from adoring fans.
We want to live forever, young and strong.
We want to judge others based on our own righteousness.
We want to rule our kingdom, and those around us.

What we fail to realize is what else comes with being an omniscient, omnipotent, eternal God:
Being patient with people who don’t want to do your will or even listen to you.
Being generous and blessing those who don’t even deserve it, nor will they thank you for it.
Being kind to people who curse using your name and will even spit on you or stab you in the back.
Being understanding of the frailties of humanity and of their weaknesses.
Being loving towards your human creation to the point of self-sacrifice in order that they could know your loving heart.
Being merciful to a people that do not deserve any mercy and do deserve judgment.
Being gracious to people that will forget or deny everything you have done for them.
Forgiving those who have listened to your enemy and followed his ways rather than listening to you and trusting in your ways.

All of God’s way are a display of the fruits of his Holy Spirit. As He is everything good, just, and holy, then He offers these same characteristics to his people, but through the Holy Spirit. We cannot be like God in any way unless we have his Spirit dwelling in us. This holy gift comes only through seeking God’s heart and confessing that the Savior and Lord He has provided to us is his Son, Jesus the Christ. Jesus was written about and on display throughout the Old Testament prophecies and Laws.

But wait, what does Jesus have to do with us desiring to be like God or be God Himself? Let me tell you: Jesus was and is the exact nature of God the Father. He displayed to humanity by becoming a human what it would and should look like to be holy, and Godlike.

Ever since the day when Adam and Eve ate the only forbidden fruit in God’s garden (as the serpent had told them their eyes would be opened and they would be like God), mankind has striven to be like God. But will we ever attain this? This far-fetched dream of becoming a god like in the movies is enticing for sure, but there is more to this than meets the eye. Additionally, man has lived out being their own God, putting themselves on this pedestal that will never amount to a fraction of who or where God is.

Instead of desiring to be God or have his power to rule, it is far better to desire his Holy Spirit in our life. This gift alone, which comes freely through faith in Jesus, will allow us to be more God-like in our fruitful characteristics. When we begin to show kindness, patience, forgiveness, meekness, selflessness, gentleness, with mercy and grace intertwined, we are being made holy by our God.

“(Jesus) who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:6-11

Food for thought: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” James 1:18

Fun facts: Apple trees take 4-5 years before they produce their first fruits, and can live to be 100 years old. Apples are members of the rose family. There are over 2,500 varieties of apple grown in the U.S. They contain no fat, sodium or cholesterol, but do have antioxidants and are quite fibrous. The average apple has 10 seeds, which makes them even more fruitful.

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – Seattle Market Place