~C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.
~ from 1 John 3
Oh beloved, it is true. At least we hope it is. But what if it is even more? Read the text. We are being made into something so far beyond our imaginations as to bend the abilities of even the best writers to even begin to describe.
The beloved disciple John seems to have the best handle on this. He had felt the friendship of his Best Friend here on earth. John and Jesus hung out and enjoyed each other’s company for about three years. They ate together, laughed together, shivered in the night together, got sick together, prayed in synagogue together, and then spoke with each other while Jesus died for us all.
John saw something pretty amazing after Jesus death as well… What if you had walked in on the ‘smoking gun’ of the resurrection? What if you smelled the scent of the freshest air you had ever breathed in the tomb of dead Man who was no longer there? What if you saw the impact marks of the Light that rolled back the stone on that morning of mornings. What if? How would you live your life from that moment on? Ever wondered? Read the writings of the Apostle John, and listen to a man utterly, completely, astoundingly convinced that his Beloved had both died and conquered the grave!
And it gets better. John saw Jesus Alive AFTER His ascension.
John saw Jesus in His full glory and strength. It was a sight, that at first, dropped John to his own face in abject fear. John knew – instantly – that he was in the presence of The King of The Universe. And this same Jesus said something that should change all of our minds about the future: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the Living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Can we see it? Don’t shrink from it. Don’t let your pride get in the way of it. He said through His own dear friend. We are to be like The Jesus that John saw in Revelation. We are to be so beautiful that we will actually fit within the most amazing scenes of Heaven that we can imagine. We are to actually become what we were created to be by The Designer. We are to become men who actually take on the image of G_d.
Yeah.
So, do you struggle with parts of Scripture? This fool of a writer does. The depth and power of some of His Word frankly drives me to the edge of any sense of understanding. However, it does help me to remember what the old saint, Corrie Ten Boom, said one time: “God said it. That settles it.”
Tonight is your night beloved. Time to quit being afraid of who He is making you into. Let Him work. The outcome is going to be more amazing than you can imagine!
According to Viktor Frankl, “a person finds identity only to the extent that “he commits himself to something beyond himself, to a cause greater than himself.” The meaning of our lives emerges in the surrender of ourselves to an adventure of becoming who we are not yet.
~ Brennan Manning,
