Journey of a Lifetime
God is transforming His children into the image of Jesus. This is a lifelong process, but you can live with radiant glory because of the New Covenant and all that God is for us in Christ!
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 (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Our text assures us that we are being transformed! We are being progressively restored to greater and greater possession of the image of God, which was corrupted at the fall. Although transformation is the work of God from beginning to end, we are not passive observers. We join this process by actively and passionately pursuing Jesus (Colossians 3:16). Romans 6:18 informs believers of their new identity: "Slaves of righteousness." At salvation, God radically changed everyone who places their faith in Jesus by giving them a new heart. Christians are given a new set of desires. Believers desire righteousness and holiness because these reflect God, in Whom we were created to the image.
If we have a new heart, why do we still battle with sinful desires?
We battle the flesh primarily by trusting God, that He is completely for us in Christ! "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16). Our Heavenly Father is great, glorious, good, and gracious! Regardless of what happens in our lives, we know God is good. He sent Jesus to die for our sins. We have been reconciled and restored to Him through Christ for the fellowship for which we were created!
Oftentimes, we spend our energies fighting "branch" sins of the flesh when, in reality, our true issue is about love, faith, and trust. When we recognize this, we are able to get to "the root of the problem." These root sins speak to the motivations and desires of our flesh. God's Spirit, speaking through God's Word, gives us the strength and courage to "get to the bottom" of what drives our behaviors and thoughts. Will you spend time this week considering these matters of the heart? The graphic below may be helpful to you, as well as the breakdown from Tim Keller's Understanding Your Heart handout.
Spiritual transformation is a lifelong journey. God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. "In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises (2 Peter 1:5 NLT).
Comfort (privacy, lack of stress, and freedom)
- •Greatest fear: Stress and Demands
- •People around you often feel: Neglected/Hurt
- Your ultimate quest for comfort causes you to neglect relationships and responsibilities. Your primary focus is you!
- •Your problem emotion: Boredom
- You are often bored because you don’t want to make the sacrifice that is necessary to serve others.
Approval (affirmation, love, relationship)
- •Greatest Fear: Rejection
- •People around you often feel: Smothered
- Others feel smothered because you want more from them than what they can give.
- •Your problem emotion: Cowardice
- You can’t speak the truth in love to others because you fear rejection.
Control (self-discipline, certainty, standards)
- •Greatest Fear: Uncertainty
- •People around you often feel: Condemned
- If they would only get their act together or have been better prepared that wouldn’t have happened to them.
- This harshness and condemnation of others is why you often find yourself alone (lonely).
- •Your problem emotion: Worry
- Stuck in a vicious cycle of: worry – seeking greater control – fail – leading to more worry – seeking greater control…
Power (success, winning, influence)
- •You will take on whatever will gain you more power and influence, thus piling up burdens and responsibility.
- •Greatest Fear: Humiliation
- You cannot lose…you must win and be the best at everything!
- •People around you often feel: Used
- You will instrumentalize and use people to accomplish your ends.
- •Your problem emotion: Anger
- •When things don’t go your way, you smolder or explode.
