When pastors
think of leading others, are they to set an example of perfection, hoping that
others will follow along? Or is there something that will bring pastors and
people together in a more personal, real-life way, than trying to attain
perfection in this earthly lifetime?
I know there
is a coming perfection that will be completed at the return of Jesus Christ our
Lord.[1]
Even though we now “strive to excel in
building up the church,”[2] we
know that we are a constant work-in-progress. Our personal testimonies are
quite in agreement with Scripture that we are not yet perfect.
Some time ago
I realized that pastors do not set an example of perfection, but of progress. Paul
told Timothy, “Practice these things,
immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.”[3]While
Paul encouraged Timothy to set an example in every area of life,[4] it
was not an example of perfection, but of progress, growth, and maturity.
The work of
God is that we “are being transformed
into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”[5]
In this lifetime, we are never fully conformed to the image of Jesus Christ our
Lord, but are “being transformed”
into that image. The transformation is by degrees, “from one degree of glory to another,” indicating constant progress.
When Paul
wanted to encourage the Philippian Christians that he expected to get out of
jail and continue his ministry, he described it like this: “that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and
joy in the faith.”[6]
Some people
think that they cannot be joyful Christians unless they are perfect, but Paul
saw joy as a companion of progress. After years of assisting in our daycare, I
can see how children can live in the joy of life, while always making progress
toward adulthood. They love to grow up. They love to learn new things. They
have joy in their progress today, knowing that they really want to be able to
do the big-kid things one day as well.
What smacked
me between the eyes this morning, in that gracious way that God gets our
attention on things he does not want us to miss, was this beautiful connection
between, “And we all, WITH UNVEILED FACE,”
and “BEHOLDING THE GLORY OF THE LORD, are
being transformed…”
The starting
place for our transformation is not in the individual journey, but in the “we
all” experience of traveling together. This is what God gave us last night in
our home church. We all came together to share our hearts and lives together
with a desire to make progress in the Lord.
The one side
of this picture is, “with unveiled face.”
Paul goes to great pains to explain that, under the law, the people’s hearts
were hardened because, “a veil lies over
their hearts.”[7]
However, “when one turns to the Lord, the
veil is removed.”[8]
Those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, through the good news of
the kingdom of heaven, have the veil removed from their hearts, and now come to
God “with unveiled face.” Nothing
need be in the way of us seeing Jesus Christ as he really is.
On the other
side, with our unveiled face, we are “beholding
the glory of the Lord.”[9]
Because our hearts are uncovered, we are now able to see the glory of God that
is in the face of Jesus Christ.[10]
We don’t look in a mirror at our own glory, either thinking we are experts at
keeping the law, or demoralizing ourselves with an honest admission of our
failures.
Rather,
knowing the grace and mercy of God expressed through the death of Jesus Christ,
we come boldly into God’s presence and behold the glory of the Lord.
It is in this
relationship, where our hearts and minds have been unveiled through the gospel,
and we now behold the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ by faith, that we “are being transformed into the same image
from one degree of glory to another.” We now have unlimited freedom to grow
up in Jesus Christ our Lord. As a body set free from a disease regains the
freedom to return to health, so a people set free from sin experience the
freedom of transformation, making progress in becoming more and more like
Jesus.
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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