"You, Christian, are just as holy as Jesus."
This is an audacious claim, isn't it?
In fact, it's so bold as to feel blasphemous, like an insubordinate and arrogant soldier who doesn't know his place.
But it has to be true if you are to be obedient to Jesus, to love as he loves ... "Love others as I have loved you."
- You can't love well without his actual goodness having become your actual goodness.
- You can't love your abuser like Jesus would, if you have even an ounce of self-righteousness in your heart.
- You can't love your spouse, kids or friends, without any self-interests, without any expectation of benefit to you, without Jesus' stubborn affection for them.
But here's the difference between us and Jesus:
Though we as "little Christs" now have the same nature [or "heart"] as Jesus, our actions don't always follow. It takes time to trust your new goodness, to let it come out and play. It takes time for the body to follow the heart; for the old habits of our former selves to succumb to Christ's death.
But be confident of this: Those latent and discouraging habits of mind and body represent a person who no longer exists. The old has gone, the new has come.
Your new heart is just as holy as Jesus' heart - because he gave you his own heart. His good nature is now in you, as you. You, noble friend are the lighthouse.