“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3; NIV
We human beings spend a lot of energy trying to close the gap between who we are and who we hope to be. For most of us, that gap is a giant chasm that only seems to widen as we get older. The more we know, the more we realize we don’t know. The more we grow, the more we realize we need to grow a whole lot more, and so on.
As a follower of Christ, the gap between who I am and who I hope to be feels infinitely wide. Even on my best days, I am a blurry and distorted reflection of the moral purity and perfection of my Lord.
But there is good news for the child of God: “when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” One look at our glorious Savior will be enough to close the gap—to purge us of all sin and make us morally pure and perfect in his presence.
This future hope has present implications: “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” In other words, if I truly hope to be pure like Christ in the future, I will make an effort to be pure like Christ in the present.
This effort to purify ourselves is not self-effort alone. We are not left by ourselves to close the gap. As God’s children, we have the help of God’s Spirit, who empowers us to become more like Christ as we obey His word and surrender to His will.
Father in Heaven, help me to become more pure like Christ as I look forward to the day when I will see Him face to face. Amen.
Take Action
Be honest with yourself and with God. In what areas of your life are you tolerating impurity? By God’s grace, repent of those things and set your hope more fully on the day when Christ will appear.
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