John Owen is helpful here in clarifying the manner in which we are able become like Christ. We must see him!
This smokes out those who reduce the gospel to living the Jesus life at the expense of worshiping the Jesus who lived, died and rose to give you life! He concludes with a nice, loving puritanical poke in the eye. I love it!
Some men speak much of the imitation of Christ and following His example; and it were well if we could see more of it really in effect. But no man shall ever become “like unto him” by bare imitation of His actions, without that view or intuition of His glory which alone is accompanied with a transforming power to change them into the same image.
The truth is, the best of us all are woefully defective in this duty, and many are discouraged from it because a pretense of it in some has degenerated into superstition; but we are loath at any time to engage in it seriously and come with an unwilling kind of willingness to exercise our minds in it.
Thoughts of this glory of Christ are too high for us, or too hard for us, such as we cannot long delight in; we turn away from them with a kind of weariness. Yet they are of the same nature in general with our beholding the glory of Christ in heaven, wherein there shall be no weariness, or satiety, unto eternity. Is not the cause of it that we are unspiritual or carnal, having our thoughts and affections accustomed to give entertainment to other things? For this is the principal cause of our unreadiness and incapacity to exercise our minds in and about the great mysteries of the gospel (I Cor. 3:1—3).
And it is so with us, moreover, because we do not stir up ourselves with watchfulness and diligence in continual actings of faith on this blessed object. This keeps many of us at so low an ebb as to the powers of a heavenly life and spiritual joys.
If we abounded in this duty, in this exercise of faith, our life in walking before God would be more sweet and pleasant to us, and our spiritual light and strength would have a daily increase; we should more represent the glory of Christ in our ways and walking than usually we do, and death itself would be most welcome to us.
The angels themselves desire to look into the things of the glory of Christ (I Peter 1:12). There is in them matter of inquiry and instruction for the most high and holy spirits in heaven. The manifold wisdom of God in them is made known to “principalities and powers in heavenly places by the church” (Eph. 3:10). And shall we neglect that which is the object of angelic diligence to inquire into, especially considering that we are more concerned in it than they? (John Owen, The Glory of Christ) p. 65
O’ for the eyes to see and savor him!