Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers and sisters.
Whose Mind Is in You?
Who do your co-workers see when they look at you? Do they see Fred or
Mary, or do they see Christ living in you? Do you get in the way so
much that they can’t see Christ? God foreknew us to be predestined into
the image of His Son but not just any image–into the same image of
Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). What does this image that people see in you look
like? Do they see more of Christ, or do they see more of you? What does
it mean that we’re to be conformed, not into the image of the world but
transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom. 12:2)? The word
“conformed” in the Greek is “syschēmatizō,” from which we get the word
“schematic” or “pattern,” and this word means “to conform one’s mind and
character to another’s.” The “another” in this case is to be
transformed or changed into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). If our
minds are renewed or transformed, then that is what people should see. A
transformation on the inside usually shows up on the outside. Do your
co-workers see that in you?
Whose Light Is It?
Paul quoted Genesis chapter one when he wrote that God made the light
shine into the darkness, and this light He caused to shine into our
hearts (2 Cor. 4:6). Sometimes this light hurts the eyes of those who
are in the dark because they have been in the darkness for so long. When
we are revealing the light of Christ shed abroad in our hearts through
His Spirit (Rom. 5:5), people cannot help but notice. It is not so much
you they don’t like as much as it is the true source of that light, and
that is Christ, Who Himself is the light of men (John 1:4, 9). There is a
delicate balance between putting our light on a lampstand (Luke 11:33)
and shining it directly into their eyes. Even worse would be hiding it
for no one to see (Matt. 5:15). We are that light set upon a hill, which
can seen from a distance. This might mean that, like a flashlight, we
can’t go right up to people and shine it in their face because it hurts
their eyes, but the light must be seen in order to expose the darkness.
Is it the light of Christ they see?
Who Are You Imitating?
Paul told the church at Corinth to imitate him but only because he
was imitating Christ. Therefore, whatever we do, say, and think should
be imitating Christ. They say that imitation is the highest form of
flattery, and that is exactly what God wants us to do in imitating
Christ. If we do, our co-workers cannot help but see Christ. Paul tells
the church at Philippi the same thing, to follow his example because his
example was a godly one, and that is a great model to follow (Phil.
3:17). More specifically, Paul tells the church at Thessalonica to be
imitating him, his companions, and the Lord (1 Thess. 1:6) because, he
hoped, they would be imitating a godly way of life. So my question to
you is are you and I letting others at work see God in us and, more
specifically, Christ? Can our co-workers see Christ in us, or do they
see no difference between us and their fellow workers and themselves?
Good question, isn’t it?
A Closing Prayer
Righteous, holy God, my Father, I need Your supernatural help to
imitate Christ because I cannot do this in my own strength. I need Your
Spirit to help empower me to allow my friends, family, and co-workers to
see Christ in me, and in Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
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