It is one thing to have features that resemble God and it is another thing entirely to BE like Him. In order to be like someone, you must know them.
Whenever I meet people who knew my mom when she was my age, they normally pinch my cheeks and say (generally in a West Texas drawl) something along the lines of, “Well, if I didn’t know any better I would say I’m staring at a young Donna Carman.” I would smile, not really knowing what to say to this person I had never met or didn’t remember and my mom would respond sarcastically, “How could you tell?”
It was probably the freckle covered face. Needless to say, my mom and I share a resemblance. When I was younger I would always get caught up thinking, ‘I am my own person.’ And, ‘We don’t even look alike’ (that last one was definitely not true).
As I have gotten older, I have grown to love when people point out our similarities. We have a physical resemblance but more than that I have grown to want to be like my mom. My mom is generous and her door is always open. She has never met a stranger.
And so it is in our relationship to God.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
We are inherently and irrevocably made in the image of God. Like a child to her mother, we resemble God. It is one thing to have features that resemble God and it is another thing entirely to BE like Him. In order to be like someone, you must know them.
How are we transformed into his image? We “contemplate the Lord’s glory”. To be transformed into His image, we simply study his character. And what do we find when we study his character? We find justice, mercy, love, power, wisdom, sacrifice, faithfulness to scratch the surface.
But why does this bring about a transformation?
When I began to see the things in my mom that I wanted to reflect, (hospitality, generosity, loyalty) it was because I myself had been the beneficiary of these qualities. I had experienced her kindness to me in these ways and I wanted to share that with others.
It brings about transformation because when we contemplate his glory we, with ever-increasing glory, imitate and carry out his justice, mercy, love, power, wisdom, sacrifice and faithfulness. In all of these things we are growing into His likeness and being transformed into His image; the image we are intended to reflect.
