On Day 17, we open the Advent calendar door to a gift that is a bit like a gift voucher—we open the promise of the gift rather than the gift itself. Yesterday, we studied the gift of sanctification which is the process of growing in holiness towards the likeness of Christ. Through a synergistic partnership with the Holy Spirit, we are constantly putting off the sinfulness of this world and putting on the holiness of the Kingdom of God. But this process will only be fully complete when we are united with Christ one day and we will be glorified.
In Romans 8:30 we read the Golden Chain of Salvation:
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romams 8:30
Paul writes this verse in the past tense to show us that our glorification begins the moment we are united in Christ. Still, more importantly, he wants to show the reader that our glorification is as sure as the resurrection of Jesus. “Our glorification is settled by the finished work of Christ and will remain unthreated.” – Jared Wilson
This final stage of completeness can only be achieved by God himself. He is in the process of shaping you and me into the people we were created to be before the fall. “The promise of glorification is the promise of the me I should have always been but cannot in my own power become.”– Jared Wilson.
So the next time you read a post about becoming your “true self” through sheer grit and determination you can breathe a sigh of relief because you know that only God can do that and He will do it soon.
What do you look forward to the most about heaven one day?
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