An article he wrote in the November 2011 Charisma magazine titled, "Wholly Holy" has impacted how I think about God's image and His life in me.
Hayford addresses the passage of 1 John 3:6-9 "No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him.
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God."
Hayford writes, "Those reborn of God just do not make good sinners anymore. This seed of new life in God means my destiny is to conquer sinning. God has planted His seed and the attributes of His personality are growing in us."
Hayford and I have this in common: a receding hairline. Neither one of us planned on this. It could have easily been predicted looking at pictures of my father, grandfather, even my grandfather and uncles on my mother’s side!
Hayford continues in the article, "The same genetic principle that caused their baldness is transmitted to me. God is saying to you and me, “My seed is in you, and since I am holy, increasingly you will be holy too!
We will be holy as He is holy.
We will be perfect as He is perfect.
Holiness – His holy nature – is progressively going to fill my broken, weak, and damaged parts. The character and consistency of my Father will grow in me.
The Holy Spirit is after that growth and rebuilding in each of us, no matter how long it takes. ” Hayford
Our growing in Jesus Christ is not a matter of trying harder. It is a matter of fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author and perfecter of our faith.