2 Corinthians 3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Perhaps one the most exciting expectations for Christians is this transformation into glory. Not as a one off event at some future time when we finally arrive in heaven, but a constant perceptible change that is occurring as we live on this earth. This is not a theoretical or vain hope, but a profound truth for those who trust in the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. However our understanding of how and why this transformation can take place is critical.

One of the greatest hindrances to bringing about positive change in our lives is the way we see God. If our view of God is negative we will struggle to become a positive Christian. If we see God as angry, we will become angry, if we see Him as judgmental and fault-finding, we become judgmental and faultfinding. If we see Him as over-bearing and controlling, then that’s how we will behave toward others. How we see God affects how we ultimately see ourselves. We can only be changed into the image of God that we believe in.

Hebrews 1:3 says the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. Jesus was the exact representation of God while here on earth. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see a man full of love and kindness, full of compassion and mercy. The only harsh words Jesus ever had for anyone were for the pious religious leaders of the day who were turning people away from God through their policing of religious rules and regulations. To everyone else Jesus extended mercy and grace. Everything that Jesus did on the earth, he did as a man in total reliance upon the Holy Spirit. Jesus is perfect theology, He said “if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father” 1 John 4:17 says in this world we are like Him. In other words having received the gift of righteousness, we now stand just as righteous and holy as Jesus himself. Yet we know that there is a gap between who we are theologically and how we often think and live. There was no such gap with Jesus. Why? Jesus knew who he was, he knew how much God accepted him and he knew what God was really like. As a result what people saw and experienced was love personified. He related to people, he healed their diseases, he extended mercy, he portrayed the very nature and character of God because he knew that’s what his Father was like.

If we are to become like Him, it is essential that we see Him as He is. To see God we must look at Him through the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus continually saw himself doing what God would do and he simply did it. The more we realize the life that it is now in us, the more we see ourselves as agents of heaven empowered to do what Jesus did, the more we will do it in reality. We are who God declares we are, not who others or even we may say we are. Who are we? We are children of God, made in His image for good works that He has prepared for us. Let’s RE-PRESENT Him well.