Month: March 2023

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This Not-So-Little Light of Mine

Amy1 was an atheist when Peggy and I first met her. Our young friend had been raised with a scientific worldview, leaving no room for spiritual matters. Yet at Peggy’s invitation she decided to join us for a weekly Bible study. Absorbing the Word over time, Amy began to believe in God, and several years later she entrusted her life to Christ, accepting for herself the forgiveness of sins and newness of life that are found in Him. As she finished praying to receive Jesus into her heart, Amy looked up and remarked, “Everything looks lighter!” A little surprised (and a lot curious!), Peggy asked, “Do you mean inside yourself, or physically around you?” “Both!” Amy replied. It seemed to me a divine gift, an assuring flicker of new life.

In last week’s post, we saw that our transformation into the image of Christ is God’s work of grace in us; it is His doing. Note He accomplishes this not by improving our sin nature (“flesh”)—that self-willed desire to live life on our terms and not God’s—for as Paul teaches us, “the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other. . .”2 “The flesh is hostile to God,” he wrote to Roman believers, “it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.”3 God doesn’t change us into Jesus’ image by making us better versions of our “old self”4 or by demanding the same from us, as if we could become like Him by trying a little harder in our own limited power. For no matter how many “second chances” we might be given, we would certainly fall short of His glory every single time.

In grace, rather, God makes us new, His Spirit breathing life where there was none and shining light where darkness once reigned. Paul urges us to “to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”5 We offer ourselves to His Spirit, who is new life in us; He will always lead us in God’s ways, as Jesus himself proclaimed, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”6 Then this verse is practical, guiding light for us: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”7 This is worth memorizing, for God’s Spirit leads us in His light—day by day, moment by moment. We offer ourselves to Him.

Father, Your Spirit lives in me and draws me, that I would offer myself entirely to You. Grace me to say “yes” to You and “no” to any temptation to do otherwise. In Christ I pray. Amen.

1 Name has been changed.
2 Galatians 5:17
3 Romans 8:7
4 Ephesians 4:22
5 Ephesians 4:24
6 John 8:12
7 Romans 6:13

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The Artist at Work in Us

We were not disappointed. At the recommendation of many, Peggy and I visited Bryce Canyon, a natural gallery showcasing spires of vivid reds, oranges, and yellows among more muted earthtones. Like statuary, these magnificent rock formations were relentlessly carved from stone with erosive tools of water and frost, each strata ultimately relenting according to its own hardness or softness, and each displaying the hues of its own iron oxides. No words nor any number of them could capture such beauty or express our awe; we could only marvel at the sculptor: “Where there is art, there must be an Artist.”

This is He who is at work in us, as well, changing us and molding us into something unknowably great. “We all . . . are being transformed into [Jesus’] image with ever-increasing glory,”1 wrote Paul to Corinthian believers, and to the church in Rome, he repeated, “For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”2 Pause and absorb this, for if Christ lives in your heart through faith, His Spirit is at work in you even now. Then notice our passive role in the molding and shaping process: we are being conformed; we are being transformed. As Paul reminded the Philippians, “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”3 Our transformation into the image of Christ is both the vision of God—“when Christ appears, we shall be like him”4—and the work of God. As He has saved us, so also is He shaping us over time. Like the rock formations of the canyon, our emerging beauty is the work of the Artist.

Does this mean we have no role in our transformation? No, not at all. We will talk about our role in a future post, but it is vitally important that we first understand and accept the marvelous truth that God is at work in us. We need not fear, for He is able. We need not fret, for He is faithful. We can rest in that God always does what He says He will do, and what He does is always more glorious than we can imagine. This is grace. This is God’s ongoing work in you, an expression of His love for you. Trust Him, rest in Him, and rejoice.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 1:6

Father, we confess Your love knows no bounds. Today, we choose to trust You and Your heart to transform us into the image of Your Son. May He be glorified in us, Your people. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 2 Corinthians 3:18
2 Romans 8:29
3 Philippians 2:13
4 1 John 3:2

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Grace Reaches into Darkness

I’ve never been the “starstruck” type, but touring the Warner Bros studio was fun. Actors occasionally traversed the lot on bicycles, waving to us along their way, and we nosed around the “Friends” set for a while. In the museum was a kiosk whereupon we could answer some basic questions to discover which WB cartoon character most reflected our individual personality types. Someone in our group asked me which toon had matched me best. “Road Runner,” I said, “What about you?” “Yosemite Sam,” he replied dispiritedly. Shifting his gaze to nothing in particular, his voice trailed off, “I’m such a jerk.” Though animated, the image was too vivid a reflection for him, revealing flaws he knew quite well but could not change.

The man’s frustration mirrors that of the apostle Paul. “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”1 This is the plight of our sin nature, unable to live what we know to be right. Frustrated, the apostle cried out in anguish, “Wretched man that I am! [Paraphrased: I’m such a jerk!] Who will deliver me from this body of death?”2

“God loves us enough to meet us where we are, and He loves us too much to leave us there,” so goes the familiar maxim. If it is cliché, then it is powerfully so, for it speaks of our much-needed transformation from what we were to who we are becoming. It is God’s desire that we be “conformed to the image of his Son,”3 and I can think of no better Biblical summation of such radical change than this: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.”4 For a few weeks, we will consider grace unto transformation, starting where God loved us enough to meet us—in our darkness. For “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”5

Who we are and who we are still becoming are most clearly seen when contrasted against what we were. So think back to the beginning of your journey in Christ, and consider how far He has brought you since then. Ponder the changes only the Spirit could have brought about in you. Use this not as a time to punish yourself for your past nor to despair over the struggles that remain, but realize the transformation God in His grace has already accomplished in you, and know He is working in you still.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. —Isaiah 9:2.

Father, thank You for meeting us in our darkness and for leading us in Your great light. Make us more like Christ, so others, too, will see Him and step into His light. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Romans 7:18-19 ESV
2 Romans 7:24 ESV
3 Romans 8:29
4 Ephesians 5:8 NASB
5 Romans 5:8 ESV