One Day We Will Perfectly Reflect God’s Image Because We Will Be Fully Conformed to Christ’s Image

Section 3: Humanity

Week 4: The Image of God within Us Has Been Distorted

Day 5: One Day We Will Perfectly Reflect God’s Image Because We Will Be Fully Conformed to Christ’s Image

1 Cor. 15:35-58

If we want to fully reflect God’s image, we need to follow Christ’s example. The problem is, because of sin, no matter how hard we try we will never be able to fully realize that goal. Thankfully that’s not the end of the story. We cannot by sheer force of will make ourselves reflect God’s image, but God can. That is why Paul reminds us that as believers, we can look forward to the day when God will conform us to Christ’s image. “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:49). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed into the likeness of his Son” (Rom. 8:29).

Here’s the question though: How excited are we about that?

As I’ve mentioned, my wife is a huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan. She hopes one day to be able to say that she has seen every building Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed. Not likely to happen…but that’s the goal. And she’s seen quite a few already. The amazing thing is she still gets giddy whenever she has a chance to see another one.  She not only looks forward to the day when she has seen every Frank Lloyd Wright design, she actively pursues that goal and she enjoys and is excited by each step she takes toward it.

Me on the other hand…not so much. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. So I could tell you I was huge Frank Lloyd Wright fan and that I too have a goal to see every one of his buildings, but you’d be able to see right through me. If I wind up seeing every Frank Lloyd Wright design ever built, it will be because Jeni dragged me along (kicking and screaming). If that’s the case, how much do I really love Frank Lloyd Wright homes and how much do I really want to see every one of them?

Unfortunately, we can ask the same question about the hope we claim to have as Christians. We say we can’t wait until the day we become like Christ, but what are we doing about it now? We may not be able to reflect his image perfectly, but with God’s help we can certainly make progress. Yet are we actively working toward that goal? If not, how much do we really care about becoming like Christ?

We were created to reflect God’s image. We should be excited about the prospect of once again becoming who we were intended to be. That will not be fully realized in this life. But with God’s help we can make progress toward that goal, and we should celebrate every step.

Challenge:

Think about the past 5–10 years of your life. Do you look more like Christ now than you did back then? If so, list several ways that you do.

Reflection Questions:

Are you excited about the prospect of being fully conformed to Christ’s image one day? If so, why? How motivated are you to make more progress toward the goal of becoming more like Christ in this life? If you aren’t motivated, why not? If you aren’t excited about becoming more like Christ now, what makes you think you’ll be excited about it in the future?