Seeing God

In each Christian we should see a developing picture of God the father.  This is because we are becoming more Christ-like and Jesus was the exact representation of the father’s nature. This is how we glorify God, i.e. by displaying his image in ourselves.

If you do not see this nature within yourself, can you call yourself a Christian?

How can you develop this nature within yourself?

What does God do in your life, from day to day, week to week, year to year, to develop this godly nature in you?

Hebrews 1:3 He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,

Romans 8:29  For those whom he foreknew [believers/Christians] he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

2Corinthians 3:18  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.

Romans 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 2:4  Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Romans 5:3-5  More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, (4) and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, (5) and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

John 14:5-12  Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"  (6)  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  (7)  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."  (8)  Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."  (9)  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  (10)  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.  (11)  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.  (12)  "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

How to Trust God

A lesson I'm learning at the moment is to trust God.  That sounds a little weird, right?  All Christians trust God don't they?  Well, in theory, yes.  In practice though, we need to learn how to apply that trust in many, many, different ways and situations.  It takes a lot of time and experience to discover even the smallest part of what it really means to trust God.  This is a huge part of every Christian's sanctification in becoming more like Christ.

The situation for me, in general terms, is that sometimes there are things that I cannot control and I have to just give up and rely on God for the favourable outcome.  The trick is in knowing when to relinquish my responsibility to correctly know what to think, speak, and do.  That is not to say that I will give up on doing the morally and biblically right thing, but sometimes it will mean making a decision between a rock and a hard place and trusting God to help.  Sometimes this will mean that I learn that I have done something wrong and sometimes the end result will be a happy outcome.  

Choosing the lesser of two evils, or the greater of two goods, would be a general example.  A more specific example: knowing when to pursue an outcome actively, and when or how long to wait for events to be right to pursue that outcome.  An example from physical training: deciding between having a rest, to recover strength, versus doggedly battling through the pain to accomplish a goal and to learn mental toughness.  An example from a moral decision:  In a debate, should I insist on the other person understanding and being convinced of my (hopefully biblical) perspective, versus giving up for now and continuing the debate another day and preserving a level of peace that ensures the conversation will not be shut down next time?