If all of our paths are unique, what path could we all share? The Apostle Paul speaks to this in Romans.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 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. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
We all share the same path of being “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,” which is a gradual and ongoing process that continues throughout our life. This process is only completed when we either die and go to heaven, or Jesus returns for us and brings this world as we know it to an end. Our conformation to the image of Jesus is a destiny to be received, not a destination to be achieved. What is truly amazing is that each of us is being conformed to our own unique image of the same Son.
We are conformed to the image of Jesus when we take Him as our yoke, learn from Him, and allow God to work in and through us. Paul explains that our predestined conformation is our path to justification and glorification. Unfortunately, Christians can remain trapped in seeking their justification and glorification by other means such as self-effort or relying on the opinions and approval of others.
Justification and Glorification
Personal justification ultimately boils down to the questions, “Should I have been born?” and “Am I worthy to exist?” The problem with asking these questions is they beg yet another, “In whose opinion?” If you refuse to accept that God takes great pleasure in your relationship with Him and that your justification is based solely on His Son’s sacrifice, you are left with building your justification from your own works and accomplishments, the opinions of others, and your own opinion of yourself – which you originally built during your childhood from the opinions of others.
The problem of basing your self-justification on the opinions of others is at least threefold. First, there are so many “others” in your life to please. Second, few if any of them will be with you on your deathbed while you think about your missing one mores and not evers. And third, when your life is over and you must give an account of how you lived, none of these “others” will be filling in for Jesus that day and sitting on His judgment seat.
Living your life solely to win the approval of others always leaves you feeling alone, even in a crowd. And worse, if you never discover and mature into who you are meant to be in Christ, you will not even have your authentic self to keep you company. As I mentioned previously, it is one thing to look in the mirror and not see yourself as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and quite another to look into your inner mirror and not know who you are seeing.
Looking to anyone but God for our glorification is equally perilous. We were created for the Holy Spirit to fill and flow through. This flow is an inexhaustible supply that can displace any self-sighted obsession. When we rely on anything but the Holy Spirit to fill us, we are like a giant inflatable Santa Claus, dancing in someone’s yard at Christmas until the fan stops blowing. The irony is that even when our self-filling fan is blowing at full speed and we are completely inflated, we usually still feel a sense of emptiness.
If you experience feelings of emptiness from self-justification or self-glorification, it is the perfect time to come to Jesus and take Him as your only yoke so you can learn from him. If you are a Christian and have taken Him as your yoke, remind yourself once again that God is the one who works for your good and justifies you. He is the one who glorifies you for His glory. Once you are established or reestablished in this truth, you can stop doing the Santa dance for others and yourself, and you can continue on your path of being conformed to the image of Jesus.
Questions
1) How much energy do you spend pleasing others and seeking their approval? How fulfilling is it?
2) Are there areas in your life that you do the Santa dance? How could you live more authentically, and what would that feel like?
3) Have you ever worked hard for an accomplishment that left you feeling empty or less satisfied than you hoped? If so, why did it fail to provide you with what you wanted? Were you seeking your own justification or glorification? What did you really want?
Proverbs 3:5-6
No discussion about our path through life should leave out Proverbs 3:5-6.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
A straight path does not rule out straight up steep cliffs or straight down into deep ravines or the darkest of valleys. Psalm 23:4 states,
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” If dark valleys were not part of a believer’s journey, Proverbs 3:6 would have said, “…and he will make your paths straight, level, and smooth,” and Psalm 23:4 would not be necessary.
Signs on Your Path
When traveling in the United States, there are a few tourist attractions that advertise on billboards beginning about 100 to 200 miles before you get there. You barely lose sight of one in your rearview mirror before another appears on the horizon. Oh, how I wish the Holy Spirit’s voice was as persistently present on our path as those signs. The problem is that if it were, there would be no opportunity for us to develop faith. According to the book of Hebrews, our faith is essential as the author writes,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
I am not saying that God cannot speak to us through signs in creation or our circumstances, which I think He sometimes does. And I could even convince myself that asking for signs is biblical because God honored Gideon’s request for two signs regarding a fleece in Judges Chapter 6. There is a problem, however, when the seeking of signs becomes more consuming and comforting than a sightless faith that matures as we become more and more conformed to the image of Jesus. An obsession with seeking signs is not one of the works that God prepared in advance for us to do.
Faith and Unbelief
In Chapter 10 of Hebrews, Jesus is presented as the final sacrifice for “sins and lawless acts.” Beginning in verse 23, the author calls for us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). The author continues in the first two verses of Chapter 11 with the definition of faith.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2)
Throughout Chapter 11 the author recounts specific terror-filled events that people in the Old Testament overcame through faith. So, what can we conclude about faith?
First, God is faithful and provides for the consequences of our sins by accepting Jesus as the final sacrifice.
Second, there must be some serious difficulties on our path that can cause us to swerve because we are told to hold “unswervingly” to our hope.
Third, faith is needed and expected in the midst of terror because faith is what “the ancients” used to overcome many terrifying circumstances.
Fourth, faith begins where sight ends. The Apostle Paul makes this distinction between living by faith or by sight when writing to the Corinthian church about his preference for either living on the earth in his body or going to heaven.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)
Fifth, even though God performed signs and wonders as recorded in the Old and New Testaments, believers were commended for their faith and their actions that emerged from their faith, not their seeking for, or depending upon signs and wonders.
The role of signs and wonders in the faith of believers was of concern to Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John when a man asked Him to heal his son. “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe” (John 4:48). Even so, Jesus understands our difficulty in believing as was recorded in Mark Chapter 9 when a father brought his son to Him for healing. What follows is a portion of their conversation.
21Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. (Mark 9:21-27)
Jesus did not rebuke or condemn the father for his inner turmoil and mix of belief and unbelief. Neither will He rebuke or condemn us for being honest with Him about our struggle with unbelief and the terror we may experience while traveling on our path. In Mark 9:19, Jesus did, however, express concern about His disciples not being able to heal the boy where it is written,
“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” (Mark 9:19)
My point is that your faith and my faith grow as we mature in Christ, and we need to hold on to the truth of,
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)
Furthermore,
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
It is critical to understand that belief and faith can emerge either from our anxiety-ridden flesh in an effort to drown out the shouting voice of fear in the face of terror, or from our vine and branch oneness with Jesus. The first is a childish faith, and the second is a childlike faith. And guess what? There is no condemnation as our childish faith and our struggle with unbelief matures into a childlike faith that confidently trusts in Him. Jesus only wants you and me to be as honest with Him, and with ourselves, about our unbelief in the same way the sick boy’s father was about his. Our honesty begins with presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice, which includes all of our good and not-so-good, along with our belief and unbelief.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
When you present yourself as a living sacrifice, the signs or lack of signs on your path will be seen with a transformed and renewed mind that is becoming more closely conformed to the mind of Jesus. You will make better decisions and grow in your ability to “test and approve what God’s will is.” And when you see no signs on your path, you will rely faithfully on the last and sufficient direction that God gave you.
Questions
1) In what ways do you struggle with belief and unbelief? Is it possible that you are a “typical” Christian whose faith is in the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus? Is there anything wrong with being “typical.”
2) Is it possible for you to continually present your accomplishments, failures, and yourself as a living sacrifice to God? Will you? Do you think anything you present to God will be a surprise to Him?