The tall passenger seemed to unfold as he stood up in the aisle of the small regional jet. Then I noticed the title of his boldly displayed book: Be Like Jesus. A few minutes later, I saw that same man push others aside to grab his bag off the waiting trolley. Be like Jesus? I didn’t know if he was truly a “brother” who knew Christ, but I was dismayed by this display of selfishness that misrepresented Jesus.

As my feet hit the escalator, I saw the man again, book cover still visible. The words then elbowed my own heart. Be like Jesus, Elisa. Don’t judge. I wondered, was my presence emanating anything of Jesus?

Becoming like Jesus is a transformational process—a metamorphosis—of God growing His character in us as we yield to His ways. Paul wrote that believers in Jesus “are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). John marvels at how hard this is for us to understand—much less achieve: “Now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him [similar to Him in purity], for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2–3). 

As the escalator spilled us out, I glanced again at the book. Be like Jesus—the words took on new meaning for me and redirected my gaze to my own heart and life.