PThe Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
“Process and Perfection”
“The eternal purpose which He (God) purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” involves our becoming like Him in character, nature, and way:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Ephesians 3:11; Romans 8:28-29).
Presently, this marvelous purpose involves a process. “Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18). Ultimately, the same means will perfect the work: “When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2).
Note the means of both process and perfection, namely, beholding and seeing the Lord Jesus. Clearly, the issue involves our response to God’s revelation of the Person and work of the Lord Jesus by His Spirit, His Word, His children, and His working in our hearts and lives along the pathways of providence. Increasing Christlikeness in character, nature, and way occurs to the degree that we “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). Who is He? What has He done? What is He doing? What will He do forever for His Father’s glory and our benefit? These are the questions that focus our attention on the current process leading to ultimate perfection.
Note the defocusing of attention on ourselves. The matter of growth in Christlikeness does not and cannot succeed by that which constitutes the very essence of sin, namely, the idolatry of establishing “I, Me, and My” as the emphasis of our existence. We were not made to be guided by narcissism, but rather by altruism. Certainly, we will think about ourselves in various aspects of truth as we walk with God. Never, however, does focus on ourselves serve as the dynamic means of increasingly becoming the moons that absorb and reflect the light of the sun (Son). “Consider Him” beckons the writer of Hebrews, “lest ye become wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:3; emphasis added).
No human being has ever directly seen their own face. Our eyes are set in their sockets to look outward, upward, and away. Certainly, this tells us something of vital importance regarding more than physical vision. Our Heavenly Father made our hearts and minds to direct their gaze upon something other than ourselves. The primary other is the Lord Jesus, the very origin, source, and reason for God’s eternal purpose and our eternal existence. Again, who is He? What has He done? What is He doing? What will He do forevermore? We will one day be perfected by the discovery of the answers. Presently, the matter involves process and our determination to set gaze of our hearts upward, outward, and way…
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
(Hebrews 12:2)
Weekly Memory Verse
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place.
(II Corinthians 2:14)
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