When I begin a trip, I usually lay out a plan. I have a daily agenda of where I will go and what I will do. If I have invested a lot of money on this trip, I want to plan it down to the details. Sometimes I take a trip that I feel is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Those trips are researched and planned over and over until I feel I have it right. That trip becomes what I have planned out carefully. It becomes what I make it, through constant and careful effort. It becomes what it is, because of where I put my focus. Our lives are no different. We will become what consumes our effort.
Becoming is a hopeful word, a word that signifies transformation. It is a word that we rarely use about ourselves. Yet, we are all becoming something. We all change as we grow older, but that change will not be for the betterment of who we are as a Christian unless that is our purpose. In II Corinthians 3:18, Paul teaches us that what we behold is what we become. When our desire is to be like Jesus, and that is what it should be if you are a Christian, we will focus on Him. As a Christian, we can look upon Him with nothing between us. As we concentrate on his grandeur, His holiness, His majesty, and His sacrificial love for us, we can see what we need to be striving for.
II Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
In the Old Testament, there was a veil that hung between the people of God, and God. When Jesus died on the cross that veil was torn from top to bottom, signifying we could come to Him and nothing would stand between us. Through His Word, we can see Him as He is. As we focus on the attributes of God, we understand how and what we are to reflect to a lost world. It shows us what we need to become.
We need to become loving to all, not a select few. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. This is a love that can only come from God himself. It will cause us to open our homes to those we have nothing in common with. It will cause us to have a desire and an implementation of service. Serving will not be a drudgery, it will be a joy. Loving the way Christ loves puts self out of the picture, not last, but not at all. Too many Christians serve out of duty while their thoughts are about how they are going to treat themselves afterward. It’s a mentality of “if I do this then I will get that.”
We need to become holy. This command was first addressed to the Israelites in Leviticus 11:44, but now Peter addresses this to all Christians. The foundation of the command is that if we profess to be God’s people, we should be like Him. Will we ever achieve this tall task? The answer is not in this life, but we are here preparing for the next life. We are to become more like Jesus each day. What does it mean to be holy? The Greek for holy is “hagios.” It means to be different and unlike the rest.” When it refers to God it means that He is different from all else. There is none like Him. So how do we make application of this truth that we are to be holy? We are to be set apart and consecrated only to Him. We are to become like Him in His holiness, putting away anything in our lives that does not please Him. Albert Barnes makes a powerful statement about what we will become: “It is a great truth, that people everywhere will imitate the God whom they worship.” Look at your life are you becoming holy in your day-to-day walk with Christ? If your thinking and your actions aren’t becoming more like Christ, you need to see who your real god is!
I Peter 1:15-16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
I could go on and on with the attributes of God, but I think you get the picture. We are to be becoming like Him until the day we die. Look in the mirror of self-examination and determine to change the things that are not like Christ. To succeed we will need God’s help, but God desires to help us. He longs for us to be totally dependent on Him. He gains great glory from His children when He can shine through them. Through prayer, study, and seeking we will grow in our likeness of Him.
In the beginning, I used an illustration of a trip and the planning of that trip. How I would put so much effort into the trip to make it successful. One day each of us will take a trip. A trip where we will stand before God. If we have not made proper and careful preparations, the destination will be disastrous. It will mean eternity in Hell. If we are saved so that Heaven is our destination, but failed to seek to become like Christ, there will be a time of great sorrow, as we look into His face, and do not hear “well done, thou good and faithful servant. Now is the time to plan and prepare for what you are to become.
