Being Conformed to Christ's Image
I am reminded of two different stories I read a few years ago that God brings to my mind from time to time as practical lessons to make me less resistant to being conformed to Christ's image. (I say "less resistant" because I believe we all have to admit we don't particularly like the processes God sometimes uses to conform us to Christ's image. They can be quite painful at times!)
One story is about Michelangelo. It's reported that he created the statue of David from a piece of stone that had been discarded. When asked how he managed to carve such a masterpiece from the rough ugly stone, he replied, "I did not carve David. I saw David in the stone and I simply let him out."
The second story is about the bristle cone pines that grow on top of mountains in the western United States at elevations of more than 10,000 feet (approximately 3.2 km). They are believed to be the oldest living trees in the world, with some estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 years old! In order to live this long, they've had to survive some of the harshest conditions on earth: arctic temperatures, fierce winds, and little rainfall. Ironically, though, the brutal environment is the reason they've survived for thousands of years — the extreme conditions have produced extraordinary strength!
We all know and love to quote Romans 8:28 that says "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." We like that verse. But how well do we like the next one: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..."?
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, then His righteousness is applied to us, which means that when the Father sees us, He sees His Son. But that's the beginning of the journey, not the end. Just like Michelangelo had to carve, chip, and grind that discarded stone to "let David out", so God uses adversities, failures, and disappointments to grind off our rough places and "let Jesus out" in us. And like the bristle cone pines that grow stronger in their harsh environment, so God sometimes uses afflictions and calamities to strengthen us and enable us to become "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37)!
"Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering works perseverance; and
perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope."
Romans 5:3-4
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various
temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces
endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may
be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
James 1:2-4
Paul begins the 5th chapter of Ephesians with, "Be therefore..." The word in Greek for this short phrase is "ginomai", which means "to be constantly in the process of becoming". It expresses the idea of someone who has started down a path in their life (like being made into the image of Christ) and is continuing to work on it. It means this person has not arrived at their goal, but is committed to working on it and to staying in the process of "becoming".
How about you, dear friend? Are you on a journey of "becoming" or have you gotten bogged down in the processes? Let's pray that we never intentionally stop God's work of conforming us to Christ's image. Sometimes it's painful, yes; but as we used to say in the Army during PT, "no pain, no gain." I know the end result will be well worth the pain....
