Promised Saintliness
Sunday is All Saints Day, and the lesson from I John gives what I think is one of the most stunning promises of Scripture. John writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2, click here for complete passage)
There are at least four wondrous promises here. First, “we are God’s children now.” Not when we die. Not when we get our lives together. Not when we finally get this “religion” thing figured out. Now. It is already the case. We are God’s children and He is not embarrassed to be our Father.
Second, “what we will be has not yet been revealed.” Even as I give thanks that I am a child of God, just as I am, today, the promise is that I will become something more. Something better. I will become what God envisions for me, not what my paltry, short sighted and dim vision can come up with, but what the designer of this magnificent universe comes up with!
Thirdly, “we will see him as he is.” Our vision of God will not always be clouded by the confusions, wants and desires of this world. “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face” is how Paul put it in the letter to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 13:12). Imagine the joy of seeing Jesus not through our dim eyes, but in all His glory!
Finally, “we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” Not only will we see Jesus as He is, but we will be transformed by the experience. In fact, it is seeing Jesus clearly that will reveal what we are to become.
Sometimes we become so focused on the little things of this life that we become satisfied with the petty satisfactions available here. God has so much more in store for us, and remembering that really puts this life in proper perspective. Not only is our heavenly life so much more than we can imagine, but we can begin to taste it now. We are God’s children NOW. In the midst of a pandemic. Baffled and overwhelmed by all that besets us. We are God’s children now. And the more we strive to see Jesus now, the more that vision will become reality in our lives!
That’s how each one of us is a Saint!
This column appeared in the November 1, 2020 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
