We shall be like him
When we see him
John lifts our eyes to the certain end of the whole process of formation: beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The transformation that is now underway, slowly and incompletely, will one day be finished, suddenly and completely, when we finally see Christ face to face.
There is enormous comfort here for a process that often feels painfully slow. We are God's children now — that is settled and present. But what we will be has not yet appeared; the finished likeness is still ahead, still in process, not yet visible even to ourselves. We are not yet what we will be, and that is not failure but the nature of a work still underway.
And the means of the final transformation is breathtaking: we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The same principle that transforms us now — beholding, becoming like what we behold — will complete the work in an instant when we behold him fully, no longer dimly. The unhindered sight of Christ will perfect in a moment what a lifetime of partial gazing has begun. This is the certain destination: a day when we will see him clearly and, in seeing, be made completely like him. And everyone who has this hope, John adds, purifies himself now. Let the certainty of who you will be shape who you are becoming.
“Now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.”
— John, in his first letter — 1 John 3:2 (WEB)
Let the certain end — that you will be made fully like Christ when you see him as he is — steady you in the slow present and shape who you are becoming now.
“Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.”
When progress crawls, a doubt takes root — that we may never truly become like Christ after all. The interior work is to lift our eyes past the gap to John's certain end: that when we see him face to face we shall be made fully like him, by the same beholding that changes us now, only complete. Hold the timeline gently — children of God already, not yet what we will be — and the unfinished places read as a work in progress rather than a verdict of failure, the sure hope purifying us even now.
This week, when your progress feels discouragingly slow, anchor in the certain end: remind yourself you will one day be made fully like Christ when you see him, and let that hope both comfort you in the gap and move you to purify yourself now in its light.
Slowness becomes the lever discouragement uses to argue you will never arrive, until you give up under the weight of the wait. But a soul anchored in the certain end is steadied through the long present and purified by the hope itself, refusing the despair that was angling to make it quit before the day it sees him.
The process of formation often feels painfully, discouragingly slow, and we can wonder whether we will ever truly become like Christ. John lifts our eyes to the certain end: when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The transformation now underway in fits and starts will one day be finished, suddenly and completely, when we behold Christ face to face.
There is deep comfort in the timeline. We are God's children now — settled and present — but what we will be has not yet appeared. We are not yet what we will be, and that gap is not failure but the nature of a work still in progress. And the completion is sure, accomplished by the same principle that transforms us now: beholding him fully, we will be made fully like him in an instant. Let this certainty steady you when progress feels slow, and shape you now, for everyone who has this hope purifies himself in its light.
- Does the slowness of my formation make me doubt I will ever become like Christ?
- Can I rest in the certainty that I will be made fully like him when I see him?
- How does that hope shape who I am becoming now?
Lord, my formation feels so slow that I doubt I will ever be like you. But I know that when you appear I shall be like you, for I shall see you as you are. Steady me in the gap with that certain hope, and let it purify me now. Amen.