I wonder how many actors have
played Winston Churchill on television or in movies? Those that spring to mind are a galaxy of talent: Michael
Gambon, Timothy Spall, Brendan Gleeson, Albert Finney, Robert Hardy, Timothy
West. Now add to those Gary Oldman, confidently tipped for an Oscar
for his performance in ‘Darkest Hour’.
In order to take on a physical
resemblance to the great man Oldman wore a ‘fat-suit’ and endured three hours
of prosthetic make-up every day.
The voice might not be such a big deal. I remember my father doing a passable imitation. Nevertheless, the end product is
impressive and worthy of the publicity slogan: ‘Gary Oldman is Winston
Churchill.’
The Apostle Paul often speaks of
the Christian believer undergoing a transformation. God is seeking to make us more like Jesus. In Romans 8: 29 he speaks of Jesus as
the elder brother in the Christian family and His followers are destined to be
‘conformed’ to His likeness.
Of course, this is not a physical likeness or something that can be
worked up or acted out. God is
seeking to bring out from our own unique character the character of Jesus. It is an inner transformation. Paul says in Romans 12: 2: ‘Do
not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind.’
Paul sees this as the Holy Spirit
making an impact on the mind of a man or a woman through the Gospel. He or she is convinced that Jesus is
the Son of God and that His life is the pattern for all Christian living. The Spirit seeks to confirm the
believer in that faith and to bring out all the qualities of Christ-likeness. What are these qualities? Paul speaks of them as ‘the fruit of the Spirit’: Love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. (Galatians 5:
22) To live by the Spirit is to
commit our lives to all these qualities.
Paul speaks of keeping in step with the Spirit. He sets the pace and we seek to keep
up. But in a way no coach or
Personal Trainer can do the Spirit gives us His strength to keep up.
In the end God does not want an
impersonation of His Son but a genuine growth of those qualities that reflect
His very nature. No Oscars are
handed out for this. The glory
belongs to God for doing in us what we could never do for ourselves and giving
us our brightest hour.
