God
predestined those He foreknew to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans
8:29). He will present us to Himself as His glorious Bride, the Church without
spot or wrinkle, glorious and blameless through Christ in us (Ephesians 5:27).
The process
of conforming us to Christ's image is what most people shy away from in their
journey of surrendering to God. We fear the pain of being molded or that God
will send us to some unfavorable place on the earth to serve in His Kingdom.
At first, what
we do not realize is that He is molding us into His grace by His mercy and
love. If we completely submit to His ministry in our life, this is painless and
even joyful (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Once we gain
experience in the molding process, we stop fearing the unknown and embrace it
with faith. We experience the glory of His transfiguration in us and are
stunned by the splendor of His majesty (John 14:3, 17:24).
As the elect
of God and the Body of Christ, we willingly surrender to Christ, our Head, in
the process of election and sanctification. We gradually conform to the image
of God, which Adam enjoyed in the Garden (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:3; 1 Corinthians
15:49).
He gives us
His fruit and His gifts in order to take our place as healthy, viable members
of His family. His spiritual life flows through our spirit and enables us to
function in His calling for our life.
According to
His eternal promises, He replaces our human nature with Christ's divine nature
(2 Peter 1:4). He creates us as a new creature in Christ for good works
(Ephesians 2:10) and gives us His power as His glorious Body (Philippians
3:21).
Prayer:
Father God,
we look forward to seeing Christ as He is and being made in His likeness (1
John 3:2). Thank You for Your holy Word, which does not leave us clueless on
this earth, but which reveals to us everything we need to see and know to live
godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). Carry us through any suffering and
persecution, and strengthen us in every tribulation, which we experience for
Your righteousness sake (Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:18-27; Philippians 3:10).
When we
suffer with Christ, we will also be gloried with Him in the day of our
resurrection (Romans 8:17) and share in Your Kingdom as co-heirs of all that is
Yours. Hasten the day of Your coming and take us to live with You in Your holy
City of New Jerusalem.
Thought for
the Day:
When Christ, who is our life, appears, we will also be revealed in all of His glory. - Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is our life, appears, we will also be revealed in all of His glory. - Colossians 3:4
