"when we appear before Him, we really will be like Him"
From the day a couple first discusses having
children or discovers that a baby is on the way, they start bonding with the
baby, and developing their desire and hope for the baby. They begin to plan and
map out his life, because they believe he is their responsibility. They are
right. From the beginning of time, a child has been the parents’ responsibility.
They celebrate the genetic heritage that passes forward in the family DNA and try
to anticipate the way some of their own physical features will be expressed in
the baby. They want the baby to be healthy and intelligent. I doubt that there
has ever been a parent who wanted anything less for a child.
Similarly, God our Father has plans for His
children; plans that are attainable if we team up with Him. He made it very
clear that His plans are for our well-being (See Jeremiah 29:11). Unlike human
parents, God doesn’t only have plans, but He also knows how to make them
happen. Human parents have no guarantees that their hopes for their children
will materialize, but God does.
All that God wants for His children is summed up in
one plan—that we will be conformed to the likeness of His Son, Jesus (See
Romans 8:29). That plan really is for us to be holy, because He is holy (See
1Peter 1:15-16). God is not just wishing and hoping for the best for us.
Neither is He waiting to see how things unfold. Instead, He takes an active
role in the process to bring about our sanctification, by fully equipping us to
that end. Peter reassures us that we are not left on our own to figure out
life, but that, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and
godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV84). We need an increasing knowledge of God’s will,
which will allow us to live lives that please Him. That was Paul’s prayer for
the Church at Colosse (See Colossians 1:9-10).
Paul the apostle, admonished the young preacher
Timothy, regarding what he should teach the flock under his care—godly living—by
saying, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from
wickedness” (2 Timothy 2:19 NIV84). We should not continue to live in sin after
we have the knowledge of the will of God. If we know the will of God, but
choose to do otherwise, James says it’s like forgetting how we look immediately
after we turn away from a mirror (See James 1:22-24). As we obey the will of
God, we are being sanctified; we gradually become more and more like Jesus,
just the way God has intended for us.
So how do we attain this increasing knowledge of
His will? Through studying the Bible, the Word, which is God’s manual for daily
living. Everything we need to know in this endeavor is written down for us in
the Word. The Bible is complete. It addresses every aspect of our lives. It has
the answers to all the questions we’ll ever have about godly living in this
life. In addition, God has placed us in His family, the Church, where we can
care for and support one another. Sharing our experiences helps each of us
grow. God has given us gifts with which we serve each other and attain His
desire for us. What is His desire for us? To become like Jesus Christ!
The climax of God’s desire for us will be amazing,
because when we appear before Him, we really will be like Him. As the apostle
Paul wrote, “So shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1
Corinthians 15:49NIV84). Amen!
