We will only ever be as whole as we believe God is good.
That’s a startling statement, but it’s true. All of humanity’s problems boil down to the fact that we’ve sinned, which Romans 3:23 describes as falling short of the glory. Falling short of God’s glory doesn’t just mean doing something He told you not to do. It’s not just about whether or not you’ve kept the rules. It actually means that we were created to be a certain type of being.
We were created to be people who reflect the glory (the character and nature) of our creator. When we sin, we’re not just violating a command, we’re actually failing to fulfill our true identity and purpose. We’re trading our divine calling for a pale counterfeit of idolatry.
Humanity’s continued persistence in sin leaves us feeling lost, confused, and utterly divorced from what we were originally created to be. In other words we’re broken, and sin is the cause. We were meant to radiate the light of heaven, but we end up living in shadows.
God’s strategy for fixing this problem is quite stunning. We were created for glory and He’s dedicated to getting us back there, but how? 2 Corinthians 3:18 gives us the answer:
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord”
Did you catch that? The way back to our original identity and purpose in glory is by beholding God’s glory. The more clearly we can see who God is, the more we’ll be like Him, and the more the ravages of sin will be erased from our lives.
More simply, in discovering Him, I discover myself. Really it’s rather like the way children learn who they are. They simply watch mom and dad and do what they do.
Linguists tell us that the way children learn to speak is one of the great marvels of human life. Some say it can’t even rightly be called “learning” because it happens with such stunning ease. If children are healthy and they hear adults speaking, they too will learn to speak, even if there is almost no effort given towards teaching them. They were born to do it, and if they can see it modeled, even though it takes time and doesn’t always come out perfectly at first, they’ll soon be talking just like mom and dad.
When you put faith in Jesus, you were reborn to live like your Father. You were born to live with His wisdom, power, and love flowing out of you. The only thing that can keep it from happening is if we don’t see it modeled.
Our distorted views of the Father (because of our personal history, false religious instruction etc.) hinder us from being who we were created to be. As we strip away these misconceptions and stare the goodness of God full in the face, we’ll be changed progressively from glory to glory.
It’s a process and takes time, but if you can see the Father doing it, you can do it too! We’ve been discussing this for several weeks as church. If you’ve missed out you can always catch up online.
Check it out at https://chariskingdomchurch.com/gaze-1/ You’ll be blessed!