How to become like Christ — Reading Companion

The Mirror and the Veil

Dods builds his central metaphor from the Exodus account of Moses’ veiled face. He notes that the glory on Moses was only skin-deep and fading, so Moses hid it to prevent the Israelites from seeing it die out. Paul, however, speaks of an unveiled face and a glory that increases 'from glory to glory.' Dods insists that the Christian’s transformation is not a momentary radiance but a progressive assimilation. The key, he argues, is steady contemplation: 'by beholding we become changed.' This is not passive; it requires fixing one’s attention on Christ until his character is mirrored in the believer. Dods warns against seeking superficial religious experiences that fade, urging instead a habitual, reflective focus on the person of Christ.

Importunity That Offends

In a section on prayer, Dods distinguishes between two kinds of importunity. He acknowledges that the Bible commends persistent prayer, yet he observes that there is an importunity that 'offends God.' Drawing from Paul’s thrice-repeated plea for the removal of his thorn, Dods suggests that a spiritual instinct can tell us when to stop asking. He warns against demanding from God what we have resolved to obtain, even if it is good in itself. When God grants such a request in anger, the gift becomes a curse, hampering and blighting the recipient’s life. Dods cites Israel’s demand for a king as a cautionary example: they got what they wanted, only to cry out for deliverance. The lesson is to pray with discretion, not to force God’s hand.

Shame as a Teacher

Dods explores the role of shame in the spiritual life, using the example of Manoah’s lament over his son Samson. He quotes Milton’s paraphrase: 'I prayed for children… I gained a son / And such a son as all men hailed me happy. / Who would be now a father in my stead?' The bitter disappointment that follows a granted prayer, Dods argues, humiliates us but honors God. It reveals how accurately God understood our character and how patiently He resisted our evil propensities. Shame becomes a corrective, forcing us to see the difference between God’s wisdom and our own. Dods insists that these second thoughts—when reason and right feeling dominate—lead us to admire God’s tenderness, even when we initially murmured at His harshness.

The Lame Man at the Gate

The final excerpted section examines the healing of the lame man at the Temple gate. Dods uses this narrative to illustrate how God’s gifts often exceed our expectations. The man asked for alms but received the ability to walk. Dods points out that our prayers are often too narrow; we ask for relief from a specific burden when God intends to give us a new capacity. He also notes the communal aspect: the healed man enters the Temple with Peter and John, praising God. This public transformation becomes a testimony. Dods does not claim that every prayer will be answered with a miracle, but he suggests that God’s answers frequently surpass our requests, redirecting our lives toward greater usefulness and worship.

Throughout these chapters, Dods maintains a practical focus: sanctification is not a mystical attainment reserved for a few but a gradual, deliberate process open to every Christian. His method is to let Scripture shape the discussion, moving from text to application without straying into abstract theory. Readers will find a consistent emphasis on the ordinary means of grace—contemplation, prayer, and humility—rather than extraordinary experiences. The book rewards slow reading, as Dods’ arguments build cumulatively toward a coherent vision of character formation.

Reading Dods on sanctification, I kept thinking how we grow by beholding, not by striving. Yet his steady light made me recall an older sermon, one about a child’s death, and the strange, quiet trust woven through such loss. There is a gentleness in that Submission to Divine Providence in the Death of Children Recommended and inforced, in a sermon preached at Northampton, on the death of a very amiable and hopeful child — Reading Notes that mirrors Dods’ own calm gaze.