Changed by Beholding

1 John 3:9-10 No one who is born of God continues in a life of sin, because God’s seed (The life of Jesus) abides in him and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. This is how we can tell who is born of God and who are children of the devil.
Ps 112:1 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands.

When I was younger, when I began to understand grace, I began to dislike teaching that emphasizes obedience to the rules. Not that I don’t believe we should obey, but following the rules because we have too, is just bondage. But the more I have studied scripture and grown to know God more, I am learning that yes, He does expect us to obey. Yes He cannot, will not, tolerate sin in heaven, but He does not ask us to obey just because we have to. In fact, if we choose not to, He will let us.

In 2 Cor 3:18 we are told that as we behold the glory of the Lord, we will be changed into the same image. It’s like looking in a mirror and as we look in the mirror and see Jesus, His perfection and His beautiful display of His father, we should want to look like him.

J. F. Strombeck in his book “Disciplined by Grace” said, “To be occupied with endless questions of what should and should not be done brings distress and enslaves the soul. But, to be occupied with Christ brings freedom and conformity to His image.”

Psalm 112:1 says “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commands.” With Jesus in us, His Spirit does greatly delight to do what God wants. As we stand in the mirror, how much of Jesus do we see? 1 John 3:9 says “No one born of God continues in sin, because God’s seed abides in Him.” When action, attitudes and words that reflect God are what is coming out of them is how we know who is born of God (1 John 3:10). Those who are truly born of God will desire to be the visible display of the invisible God. They will desire for Jesus to be using their life to do the works of God.