One of the great things that I love about God, is that He is always working.  When we’re strong, when we’re weak, when we succeed, when we fail, when we are rich, when we are poor, when we are at peace, when our emotions are a storm, when we have joy, when we have despair – God is always at work.

“we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” – Romans 8:23-30

God is faithful to complete what he has begun in us, to use the circumstances of our life to draw us closer to Him, where lasting peace and joy is found.  He shows us more of Himself, His goodness, and in seeing Him as He is, we are being transformed into His image little by little.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 – “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

It is with these things in view, that God has challenged me lately.  As a Christian, we are called to a great many things, but there is really only one thing that matters – seeing and savoring Jesus for all that He is to us and for us.  Everything else, even obedience in life, service, and Christian disciplines, if they are not rooted and sprouting forth from a heart that sees and delights in Jesus, is nothing.  It could be worse actually, in that it may actually mask an unbelieving heart.

A simple question is, do you love Jesus?  Do you love him primarily not for what He has done for you, and not what He can do for you, but simply for who He is – what you see of God in His Word?  With hearts that are so easily deceived, as ours are, it is imperative that we question ourselves, and ask God for His grace and mercy to draw us to a pure love and trust in Him.

My encouragement for us all, is to ask pursue each day a greater love for Jesus than we had for Him the day before.  Ask God to see wonderful, delight-inducing things about Himself from His Word.  Ask God for the Spirit’s work to have a singular affection for Him, and let all other loves of our hearts be derivatives or an overflow of our Greatest Love, God Himself.  Seeing Jesus with clear eyes, delighting in Him from a pure heart in His Word, will have us by the Spirit conformed into His image day by day.

I hope this reaches each of you well, and pray that our God who is able to do all this and more grants each of you peace, diligence, and unity of the Spirit among the people of God.