“All of us... are being transformed into [God’s] image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)A handicapped girl with leg braces was once discouraged about her condition and wished she could quit her arduous physical therapy. One day when her father insisted that she continue, she asked, “Daddy, don’t you love me just the way I am?” He hugged her and replied, “Yes, honey, I love you just the way you are. But I love you too much to let you stay that way.”
God loves each of us just the way we are – imperfections and all. He loves us even though we struggle with sin and with life’s pain and hurt. He has forgiven us, accepted us, and brought healing to us because we have received Jesus Christ as our Savior. But He loves us too much to let us remain as we are.
Instead, the Lord wants to change and transform us into His image. In our struggles against sin, and through our sufferings, He desires to develop our character so that we become more like Christ. That’s why our Christianity is never a one-event-happening, but is instead a daily surrender of our will to His. Some biblical terms that we in the Methodist/Wesleyan branch of Christianity use to describe this process are “holiness,” “sanctification,” and moving towards “Christian perfection,” but they all add up to one thing... growing and maturing in the Lord – becoming more like Jesus today than we were yesterday, and more like him tomorrow than we are today!
So, as you and I face life’s difficulties, we need to remember that God loves us, and that He wants to use the tests, trials, and struggles we experience in life to transform us and make us better people. Always remember that God loves you and I do, too!
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