God doesn’t transform us into the likeness of Christ overnight.
He changes us little by little, day after day. He doesn’t drive the sin out of our lives in a single year, but day after day, year after year, much like he promised to drive Israel’s enemies out of the promised land:
And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. (EX 23.28-30)
I’m grateful the Lord works “little by little.” If God had shown me all the sins he needed to drive out when I first got saved, I would have fainted. He’s driving out different sins today than he did 5 or 20 years ago. When he gets rid of a Hivite, he goes after a Hittite. But eventually, his work will be done. Little by little, Jesus will drive our sins out until we stand before him and all he will be able to see is his own likeness.
Don’t grow impatient under the Lord’s loving hand of discipline.
He’s like a sculptor, turning a piece around, looking at it from different angles, chipping a piece off here, sanding an edge there, chiseling a line here. He’s perfecting the image of Christ in you.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for this post. This is an encouragement to a struggling Christian like me. We can indeed trust Christ (and that includes both His ways and timetable) for our sanctification.
Wow. Thank you.
A challenging word, but one of encouragement too – I need to remind myself often of Philippians – "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…"
Thanks for the reminder!
you're welcome Tom — keep reminding yourself of the Philippians promise! I need to keep reminding myself as well.
Good point.
The one caveat I would add is that if we make peace treaties with the inhabitants of the land (ie: sin) we are in bad stead. Israel started off well in the promised land, but after Joshua and the elders passed away, there came a generation who "knew not the LORD" (Judges 2:10).
He left the inhabitants of the land (sin) there to "teach them to war".
Sadly, they compromised and made marriage between themselves and the inhabitants. (Judges 3:5-6): "They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods."
There's definitely a warning in there for us, especially in this age of compromise.
1 Corinthians 10 also provides a good warning to believers.
Great point Paul! Thanks for adding these thoughts in — our sanctification is in many ways war.
It helps me to remember the Sculptor always has the finished image in mind. He shapes me through trial and suffering to become more and more like Jesus. On too many of those days I complain about those same trials and sufferings. But I am caught up short when I think…am I really complaining because I am becoming more and more like Jesus? Do I really not want to be like Jesus?
Excellent kateg!
Really, Do we want to complain because God is making us more like his Son? thanks for adding this.
Excellent and deeply encouraging thoughts Mark! So often I can be so caught up in learning to fight and run from particular areas of sin that it is easy to forget that Christ has already defeated all of sin and death in His sacrifice! I love meditating on Romans 6 with this in mind.
Recently I've benefited in a huge way from Sibbes work The Bruised Reed. Unbelievably encouraging and insightful look at the gentleness, love, and mercy Christ has on His people as He is making them more into His own likeness!
Thanks again for the beautiful insight!