Today I was reading in 1 John and came across this passage:
1 John 3:2-3 (English Standard Version)
“2Beloved, 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. 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
First, this passage gives me great hope! Oftentimes, in my journey to know my Lord more, I get discouraged because my own shortcomings and insufficiencies. While I know that I can trust God to be perfecting me (to be completing the work He began per Philippians 1:6), sometimes the completion of that seems very far off. Thus, confidently knowing that at some point I will become like Christ gives me great joy.
The second thought I have from this passage is more of an application. Notice how it says that “we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” This implies that just seeing our Lord Jesus Christ has great power to transform us. While we must wait till the day he is revealed to see him in his fullness, in the mean time, by seeking the Lord through his word and in prayer we can begin to see a foreshadowing of him. I want this desire to see my Lord to consume me, as I want to be changed more into his image. I want to love like Jesus, and I want to change the world as he did also. I want to proclaim his praise and glory to the nations, and I want to tell all people of the great gift of grace he has to offer them—which can save them from the eternal consequences of their sin. I know that in order to do this, though, I must be changed daily to be more like him.
So this must be my goal: to know Jesus more—that is, to see him more clearly—by seeking him constantly.