God's Magnificent Goal

In my journey with the Lord, I've long acknowledged that God is at work in my life on a deeper level than simply healing me from my physical condition (if you haven't read it yet, I recommend you read "The Oncologist's Report" first). Yes, I believe that God will heal me from cancer, and is in fact right now in the process of healing me (see my post "Torn Between the Two"). But more than that, God is at work refining me, purifying me and preparing me for eternity! This is happening for every single believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, for as Romans 8:29 declares, God's goal for each of our lives is clear:

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

Because God's goal is to conform us to the likeness of Jesus, He is at work on every level of our life to bring this about, as described in the previous verse, Romans 8:28:

"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" (i.e. the purpose of being "conformed to the likeness of his Son).

Quite frankly, I often wonder at how God will ever conform me to be like Jesus. You see, I know myself too well. I am all too aware of my weaknesses and frailties and deficiencies and faults (it seems, at times, like a very long list). All too easily I can become irritable or short tempered -- especially when driving. My family is wonderfully understanding and patient with me, knowing that my illness is at least in part to blame for some of that irritability and frustration. But beyond the excuses, what is really happening is that I have existing "fault lines" in my character which, when under stress or pressure, tend to buckle and fail. We all have such character "fault lines" and I know mine all too well.

I was praying today about this. I was firstly expressing appreciation for God's amazing forgiveness and grace, and secondly asking the Lord to override my character flaws -- both with forgiveness (to cleanse me from sins committed) and with the empowering of His Spirit (to enable me to overcome these flaws). This is, after all, what the "meno experience" is all about (see my post on "The Meno Experience"). But today I was also voicing my sense of frustration with myself. "Will I ever change?" I was asking the Lord. "How will I ever reach the goal you have for my life? How will I ever be conformed to the likeness of your Son, in all His purity of character and focus of purpose?"

The Lord began to minister to me, but before I share with you what He said in this regard, I first want to provide a little bit of background as to what God's goal actually is for your life and mine. Only when we realise the nature of His goal will we appreciate the process He is taking us through in order to reach that goal. Without understanding the goal, the process is meaningless. Without a clear destination, the journey is aimless.

So let's take a look at God's goal, straight from His own mouth, so to speak. Ephesians 5:25-27 declares:

"...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

Although this is speaking of the Church as a whole, it is also talking about God's goal for me, as a part of that Church. The Lord's aim is that I, eventually, will be "radiant", "without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish", and "holy and blameless." This is definitely God's goal for me personally, because Philippians 2:15 says that God's plan is for me to "become blameless and pure, [a child] of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which [I] shine like [a star] in the universe."

We've already read in Romans 8:29 that God is "conforming" us to the likeness of Jesus. Well, what is Jesus like? There is one word which summarises the essence of Jesus' character: perfection. In fact, in Matthew 5:48, Jesus phrased God's expectation of me very succinctly:

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Just in case you think that this is so totally beyond the reach of any mere mortal, think again. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 13:11, says: "Aim for perfection."

In Philippians 3:12, Paul recognised that he (like me) hadn't yet reached that goal of perfection, yet not once did he seek to lower the bar of God's expectation, for he wrote these words:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

In other words, Christ Jesus took a hold of me so that I might take a hold of perfection through Him! With this in mind, let's read Paul's words in Colossians 1:28:

"We proclaim [Jesus Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ."

I don't know about you, but this goal is both daunting and, potentially, discouraging. When I realise what God is aiming for in my life, and then I look at where I actually am right now, I wonder: "How can this ever come to pass? How can I ever reach God's goal?"

But then I remember the method by which God works in my life. I remember the "meno connection" that I have with Jesus (once again, check out "The Meno Experience"), which Jesus prefaced with these words: "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The whole thing can only work because, like a vine branch, my life is connected to Jesus and draws life, strength and transforming power from Him.

The Bible is very clear that if I try to change myself, I doesn't work. The very best I can do is become, like the Pharisees, a master of legalistic self-righteousness (Philippians 3:6), which is merely a hypocritical mimicry of true perfection (and oh, how easily and how often the Church has fallen into that seductive trap). This is why Paul, in Philippians 3:9, said so clearly that his goal was to be "found in [Jesus], not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." This is because, as the writer to the Hebrews explained, "the law made nothing perfect" (Hebrews 7:19). In other words, no religious system of self-effort -- even one provided by God Himself -- can ever fulfil God's goal of perfection in our lives.

This, in one sense, permits me a sigh of relief. In myself, I cannot reach God's goal of perfection, no matter how hard I try. So what does God require of me? All I'm required to do is ensure that I remain connected to the vine -- abiding in Jesus through the "meno connection". And that simplifies things a lot. Rather than concentrating on trying to obey 1001 rules and regulations, which I could never consistently keep, all I need to do is focus on my relationship with Jesus, which is based on 1) hearing His Word and 2) obeying His Word (Matthew 7:24-27; John 15:4-12).

And so this was the essence of the Lord's encouragement to me today. All I need to do is continue to abide in Him. Keep my ear open to His Word, and my heart ready to obey His Word. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. After all, even in Ephesians 5:25-27, we discover that the way that Jesus will purify His Church, bringing her to the point where she can genuinely and accurately be describes as "radiant" and "holy and blameless" is by a cleansing process which Paul calls "the washing with water through the word" (verse 26).

So I'm soaking in God's Word -- not for the purpose of gaining more biblical knowledge or anything like that, since knowledge in itself does nothing to bring about God's goal. No, I'm soaking in God's Word in order to get to know Him more, in order to learn His ways, and in order to obey Him from the heart. After all, Jesus Himself summarised the "meno connection" in John 15:7 with these words:

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

Remaining in Christ is equated with His words remaining in me. Abiding in Christ means His words abiding in me. You cannot separate those two things, because they are equivalent. This is why, you will remember, Colossians 1:28 says: "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." It is the Word of God, received and acted upon, which does the work of perfecting the believer.

In Galatians 4:19, Paul wrote:

"My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you..."

This was the second part of how God spoke into my life today. Not only did He say, "All you need to focus on is immersing yourself in my Word and obeying it," He also said, "The result of this will be Christ formed in you!"

I've known that verse for a long time, but it struck me in a totally new way today. I suddenly realised that I'm pregnant with God's perfection! (I know it sounds a little weird, but that was how God encouraged me today). Just as a pregnant woman carries a child to full term before delivering that child into the world, so I'm pregnant with the purposes of God! It hasn't yet come to birth in my life, but I'm "showing"! And once the period of gestation is complete, "Christ in me" will come forth in all His glory! This is why, in Colossians 1:27, Paul writes about "Christ in you, the hope of glory"! It's not about me, by myself, trying to perfect myself, because that is, without question, totally beyond my capability. But it is all about the Lord Jesus Himself being formed in me, which is what being "conformed to the likeness" of Jesus is all about! This is the final result and ultimate goal of the "meno experience", which will bring glory to the Father (John 15:8).

After the Lord encouraged me in this way, I realised that I'm on track! Like Paul in Philippians 3:12-14, I have to make this admission:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Tonight a number of things went wrong, as they often seem to do, all at the same time. Jessica, my eldest daughter, was going to a formal dinner this evening, and needed to be driven to her date's home (about half an hour away). Elena hadn't yet returned from gym, and her mobile phone wasn't switched on. I had just woken up, and was feeling very ill. Jessica was upset about being late, and concerned that the hired limousine wouldn't wait for her if she arrived late. Elena had our main car, and the second car was not so reliable -- not a car I would normally trust for an hour's return trip. Although feeling decidely unwell, I pulled myself together, wrapped myself up, and drove Jessica to her destination. But, being unwell, I made some wrong turns on the way back.

Now I share all of this because I could so easily have gotten stressed out by all of this. But the Lord had been speaking into my life earlier in the day. And as I'm driving back home, somewhat lost and hoping that the direction I had taken was correct, I began to sing an old, old song. If I get the opportunity, I'll record it later for you, and place a link to the song in this post, but for now I'll simply quote the scripture verse from which the song is taken. Jude 24 declares this powerful doxology, which has become my own personal doxology for today's walk with God:

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."