Not Just Like Him - in HimSample

Day 1- Being IN Christ vs. Being LIKE Christ

If I’m honest, there are questions that rise up in me—deep ones I long to have answered:

Will I ever change? Am I loved? What’s my purpose? Do I matter? Am I needed in the circle I’m in? Who am I in this season? God, do you really care about ALL of my life?

I know the biblical answers—I could recite the verses. But my emotions don’t always fall in line. Staying up all night replaying a conversation doesn’t exactly feel like “cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you" (1Peter 5:7, NIV).

And yet, that’s what this journey of faith is about. Becoming the very words God speaks over us:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..." (1 Peter 2:9, ESV).

Peter didn’t write those words because he instantly believed them. His story started with shame—“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8, NIV)—and wound through failure and denial before he was restored (John 21:15–19).

Peter’s life shows us that transformation doesn’t come from trying harder or getting everything right. It comes from an encounter with the most loving, gracious, kind person we’ll ever meet: Jesus.

Peter didn’t just try to live like Jesus. We’re not called to that either—not primarily. The first invitation isn’t imitation, but union. We’re called to be in Jesus.

Trying to act like Him without actually knowing Him leads to striving and surface-level performance. Peter did that too—it looked brave, even loyal, until the pressure hit. Then he was swinging swords and denying his friend. But after being restored, he lived from love, not just for it.

Being in Jesus means daily surrender to His love. It’s not perfection—it’s presence. A life of “with-ness.”

And like Peter, we’re each on that journey—becoming who God says we are. Not on our own, but with each other. We belong not just to God, but to a people. A Church. A holy nation. (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

So as we reflect on 1 Peter 2:9, we’re going to explore:

1. How Peter became the kind of person who could write these words.
2. What they meant to the people he wrote them to.
3. And what they mean for us, today.

• But this isn’t a solo devotional. The best stories are shaped by who is on the journey with us! So don’t keep this to yourself—reach out to someone and ask, “Here’s what God is showing me. What about you?” Because this isn’t just about where we’re going.
  It’s about who we’re becoming—in Him, with each other,
  in the light of the One who knows every part of us and still says,“You belong" (1 Peter 2:9).
• Reflection: How is being “IN Christ” different from being “Like Christ”? How would life look different if I said yes to God’s invitation to being “in Christ” the goal?
• Practice: Ask God to bring someone from your neighborhood or church community to mind. Pray that they would experience a deeper “with-ness” with Jesus. Reach out to them through a text, call, or note and let them know that God brought them to your mind. Ask them what else you can be praying for them for this week.