How can God love the unlovely?

First, we must be ¹lovable i.e. there must be something about us that God cherishes (loves) deeply. While at the same time, there is also something about us (unlovely) that God opposes. How can both of these be true and reside in the same being?

What does God cherish?

First and foremost God cherishes himself, for he is the greatest, wisest, loveliest, most beautiful, majestic and powerful being in the universe. There is no one more powerful or significant than the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

We are like God.

And because we are, we are able to enjoy and glory in who he is and to reflect something of himself back to him and out to others in a way no other created being can. Our capacity to appreciate, enjoy and reflect the infinitely valuable God is the essence of what makes us valuable. ²Valuable both to others as well as to God himself.

What does God oppose?

Anything that diminishes the recognition of His great glory/value (His actual intrinsic glory can never be diminished).

Why does he oppose this? Because everything is from, through and to him. Nothing that is, would be if not for him. For Him or for us to conduct ourselves as if these things are not so is not in line with the reality of who God is and who we are. This not only dishonor's who He is as the most glorious of all beings but is also to our harm. For use to value anything above God most high (most valuable) is to live contrary to the reality of how things are designed, as well as pointing others away from what is most valuable i.e. God. This ultimately leads to their destruction and as well as ours.

So if both of these qualities (lovable and unlovely) are within us at the same time how does God reconcile these opposite attributes i.e. how does he love the unlovely?

He removed the consequences of our unloveliness by putting them on himself in and through his own son Jesus. Now that the consequences are removed he is ³free to focus in on who we are as his image bearers with the capacity to receive and give his love, honor, and glory and reflect him out to others. This should be our focus as well. The unlovely part of us is no longer ⁴in the picture or part of the equation, only the lovable part as originally designed. 

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¹For a more in-depth discussion on being lovable vs lovely click here.

²This does not mean God needs us in the ultimate sense for all he needs is within Himself as the all-powerful, wise and loving Father, Son, and Spirit.

³Due to the character of his nature, there are certain things God can not do. He can not “look upon” i.e. approve of rebellious unbelief/distrust (i.e. sin) that God is who He claims to be. To do so would be contrary to His very being and nature.

⁴Our distrust of God still matters for us, but doesn't matter for God i.e. it has no impact on God's love and commitment to us, once we are in Christ. 

A world of design and beauty

When you see a well-known landmark, such as New York City, sitting in rubble and smoke what do (did) you feel? 




Or a scene of children disfigured from war, bandaged and bloody, missing a limb or a eye etc., 

what is your reaction or feeling toward these... sadness, anguish, fear, anger? But why? What is it in us that causes us to feel these things? 

We all seem to have this internal and universal notion of what is good and beautiful and what it is not. There may be nuances of difference within various cultures, but generally speaking, we all recognize when something is *repulsive versus attractive. Most are drawn to a majestic mountain range and *repulsed by a landscape filled with destruction or someone marred from a violent act or accident.

Where does this sense of attraction and repulsion come from? 

In an accidental world that comes about by time plus chance, this attraction or repulsion should not even exist much less make sense. If there is no design, no grand purpose to our existence, or the existence of anything else, there should be no attraction or repulsion. Therefore, the notion of beauty has to be an illusion if the world happened by chance. 

In a world of design, created with specific intent by a purposeful Designer, our attraction and repulsion make perfect sense. In a world of design, things are meant to be a certain way. When they are not, we sense it and are repulsed. 

And here we are, with an unspoken universal notion of beauty, harmony, order, and a desire for all of these. As much as we try to reason away that we and our world have no purpose, meaning, and design, we cannot deny our experience, desires, preferences, and longings that tell us we and our world (universe) are more than some random cosmic accident. Our desire for beauty is our clue.

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*What is intriguing is we are awed by both the extremely beautiful or terrible. Each provokes a different kind of awe but awe just the same. There is something about seeing or experiencing things that go way beyond us and our everyday experience, things much bigger than us, things that can overpower and disrupt us. We were designed to be awed by something greater than us. We are hard-wired for meaning, purpose, and significance and drawn to anything that makes us feel this way and repulsed from anything that makes us feel the opposite. For a further discussion on awe click here.

We may be intrigued by destruction in the make-believe world of movies or curious about it in real life -- the reason traffic always slows when there is a serious accident - but do not find it pleasant, especially when it involves those closest to us who we care about most.

Participating in the promises of God

How do we engage God's promises -- and thereby God Himself?

We "plugin" to God and more fully experience his love when we are ¹singular in our focus on:

·       What He has already done for us by and in Christ as past proof of His love.  

·      What He is now doing for us as present proof of His love -- i.e. he is present with us, revealing Himself to us via His Spirit, praying for us. He is for us, not against us no matter how much our circumstances appear to indicate otherwise.

·      What He promises to do as our future hope and confirmation of His love -- i.e. we will be glorified, enter the bliss of eternity and fully partake in His glory once we behold Christ in all his unveiled beauty, wonder, and majesty. Now we only see "through a mirror dimly" (or glass darkly -- depending on the translation). 

Obedience i.e. singular focus on God - involves pushing away from anything we currently draw a sense of identity, significance, meaning, purpose, and value from -- "If anyone would come after me, let him ²deny himself..." -- so we might draw near to him i.e. position ourselves to experience and receive meaning, purpose, and value in, through and from Him, not something else.

For example, when we feel the need to disconnect and relax, instead of ³watching our favorite show, catching up on the news, playing a game or reading an engaging mystery, fantasy, or sci-fi etc ⁴we turn to God in prayer and meditation on his promises. We remind ourselves of all that Christ did, does, and will do for us. When we do, our sight of Him becomes fuller/clearer. We are reminded again -- something we constantly need -- that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God - i.e. words of God's promise, knowing our trust in God is strengthened when we meditate on and are reminded of those promises.

What promises exactly? 

*The promise of His love -- demonstrated by Christ sacrificing His life (past) so we might be fully restored to the Father in all His infinite love. 

*The promise of God's complete commitment of love to us now (present) by working in all things -  the good, bad, and ugly things - for our good.

*The hope (future) of experiencing the uninterrupted fullness of that love-Spirit in the presence of both Christ and the Father throughout eternity where there no longer is pain, tears or dying, only perfect unending joy.

Living out His love leads to a greater experience of it

We start out now by faith in his love already demonstrated in the past work of Christ, which leads to a present response by us of love/trust/obedience. This results in experiencing further evidence of His love in the present i.e. we receive a present, first-hand experience of His love in and by our obedience. We experience His love in some tangible way, such as answered prayer, in addition to simply believing He is for us. This isn't the full experience of His love yet to come, but it is a reminder of what God has in store for us in eternity.

So there is a cycle by which we participate in God's love. It starts with faith in His love demonstrated in the past work of Christ, which is the basis for our obedience - and the evidence of that faith -- resulting in our further experiencing that love through that obedience. Both faith in His love demonstrated by His past actions and directly experiencing that love now in some present tangible way are ⁵how we receive His love. It always begins with faith in what God has already done which leads to experiencing Him doing something now, which increases our hope of what He has in store for us in the future.  

Another way of saying it is we participate in God's love demonstrated by actions God has taken in the past -- actions that already prove His love to us - by believing in it. 

We also participate in God's love now through some manifestation of it e.g. answered prayer, a demonstration of some special circumstance/ providence as evidence God is with us, a special sense of His presence, heightened awareness and clarity of God's promises to us. 

So when we are told in His Word or given some circumstantial/ providential indication we are to take a certain action, we first simply step out by faith in His love already demonstrated in the past, trusting that His direction for us is out of love and for our highest good as well as his greatest honor/glory.

Our faith is such that we know the outcome of obedience will be good -- not necessarily easy -- because He's already proven He loves us from the past actions of Christ, the greatest evidence of His love.

Rom 8:32  He who did not spare his own Son (the greatest gift) but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (the lesser gifts)? 

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¹The following words of Christ -- with commentary -- indicate the necessity of having a singular focus:

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

i.e. whatever it is we value (treasure) most is what we long for (desire in our heart) most.

Mat 6:22  “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 

If we value -- and therefore focus on -- the right thing -- i.e. God -- the nature of our actions will be true, right, according to our design.

Mat 6:23  but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 

If we value (focus on) the wrong things all our actions will be a lie, violating our design and resulting in complete separation from the Source of life, light and of all things, leading to our harm and eventual destruction.

Mat 6:24  “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

We either value/worship the right thing i.e. God or the wrong thing, created things; money and the things money can buy. If we love the creation over the Creator we will come to hate Him and see His commandments as interference in finding life on our terms. If we love him above the creation we will come to disdain the creation as the source of life (not the creation in itself for it is created by God and therefore good) recognizing only God is life and all created things are from Him.

²We usually don't think about what it is we are denying ourselves of. It's more a sense than an understanding i.e. we know when we do but can't necessarily put into words what it is. In essence, it is denying ourselves a sense of value, meaning, purpose, and significance -- in a word, love -- through self-achievement and self-gratification, instead of finding this in God through Christ's achievement on our behalf. 

To say it another way, we attempt to "self-love." The interesting part is "taking up our cross" appears to be the key way we engage and experience God's love most. Suffering is not just unavoidable, it's necessary for our transformation. Through it, we are reminded of our need for His love and the inadequacy of finding love anywhere else through performance. 

³None of these things are bad in themselves. The issue is why do we engage in them. We are told, "...whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." There are times we can do these things for the glory of God and there are times when we don't. The intent of our hearts is the key. 

⁴This is not something we must work up the will power to do but is the organic/naturally occurring fruit of seeing and experiencing God's infinite love. We are responders to love. We love God because he first loved us. 

⁵Hope in the unobstructed and uninterrupted fullness of that love also plays a role. For a further discussion of hope click here. 

Not everyone believes what God says about why Christ took on flesh and died. Followers of Christ do.

Evil and good both display something about God

¹Both the depth of evil actions or height of great (good) achievement displays the greatness of God. 

How? The void within that drives those to great harm (evil) or ²"great good" is so vast, what is required to fill it must be equally vast i.e. the greatness of the void that drives them is because of the greatness of God. To say it another way, our capacity for God is such that the void left by His ³absence is in proportion to His greatness, i.e. the greater the object, the greater the hole (void) left by its absence. The greater the hole, the greater the vacuum it creates and energy/action required to fill it; energy used both to inflict great harm or achieve ²"great good." As a result, ⁴the most gifted are able to go to great extremes - both good or bad - in an attempt to fill it.

Our desire for meaning, purpose, and value is insatiable - i.e. infinite - resulting in extreme behavior.  Regardless, lasting meaning and purpose can only be filled by the infinite, i.e. something infinitely great, not something temporary.

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¹What I am addressing is extreme effort and results are the fruit of exceptional ability coupled with an extreme desire for greatness, power, achievement, etc. Good and evil come from the same place with rare exceptions (see the next footnote for the exception). What many call good is driven by the same void; the same absence of God that drives evil conduct. It may be "good" on the surface, but it still comes from a need to fill a void, not the result of being full and overflowing in goodness to others. 

²Not all "good" actions are driven by the absence of God and the need to fill the void created by that absence. Some people are driven truly to give, not get-take. But they are those rare, "sold out" believers and followers of Jesus who are so captured by His love, they do all things for His honor and often do so unsung, because the good they do is to bring glory to God out of love for him and others, not to obtain (or seek) fame and the praise of others. The world could care less about God's glory and therefore about these worshipers of God. In fact, they are often ridiculed as foolish for being so "God-obsessed." 

And how is it possible to do things solely for God's glory? Because of Christ, God - in the vastness of His infinite love - is present again (as originally intended) via His Spirit where the void used to be. And once He is, it is for us to believe this with every fiber of our being and all the implications of His being present. 

³this absence is not due to God being unavailable but to our rebellious refusal to recognize it is He alone who must fill the void, resulting in our looking only to him to do so.

⁴the drive of those who are able to accomplish the greatest harm or good is coupled with great abilities as well. We all are driven to fill the void left by God's absence (simply stated, we were not designed to be empty. Vacuums are not normal but evidence of something absent). However, only a few are skilled enough to have a more significant impact than most i.e. only a few have the abilities to carry out great harm or "good" because of the great gifts/skills they have been given and use for their own ends, not God's. 

I am also addressing "good" as defined by the world; those highly "successful" in their field of endeavor, "superstars" such as high-profile entertainers, actors, artists, musicians, athletes, business tycoons, etc. These are individuals who have an impact in their particular field of endeavor (for good or harm), and leave a clear and significant mark on history. In fact, it is the desire to leave this mark that often drives them i.e. they are driven by the desire for their own fame and glory, not God's. 

I would add all of us are driven in the same way without the love of Christ moving us to action i.e. absent God's love, we are driven to fill the void of God's absence. The difference I am addressing is some have a greater skill set, be it temperament, natural abilities (musical, athletic, verbal, creative, intellectual, etc), and such, and can therefore have a greater-more significant impact on the world than others. 

The necessity of hope

No one operates without hope. We all must have it. Without hope, we give up trying to accomplish things. Once we lose hope we quit.

What is hope? It is ¹anticipation or expectation -- sometimes absolute confidence -- of obtaining what we do not yet have, that we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning, importance, worth, significance, etc. The common emotion we experience when we obtain this is happiness. 

To say it another way, hope is driven by finding what we believe is missing that will make us most happy if and when we find it.

What is it about us that causes us to need and seek hope? Why is having hope so essential, so much so that we will end our life if we no longer have it? What is missing that creates a desire to always look for something to satisfy us; to fulfill our hope? ²Why do we hope at all?

Hope is so much a part of our makeup, even in suicide someone is operating out of hope.

Ironically, they hope to end the pain of no longer having hope. They have lost hope of finding any true or lasting meaning, purpose or significance. They feel totally helpless, useless, and worthless. The pain of their present existence is greater than their hope of finding relief from it. They are driven by a desperate hope that ending their present state might stop the screaming pain of no hope and give them peace. When we say, ³"rest in peace" (R.I.P) when someone leaves this "veil of tears" we are expressing this very thing. The hope that our life ending will finally stop the unsuccessful pursuit to relieve the pain of disappointment, fear, loss etc.

Hope for the unbeliever

Ultimately, hope for the unbeliever is the satisfaction of their thirst for meaning, purpose, and value occurring when they obtain wealth, fame, power influence, a life partner or  ____________  (fill in the blank), etc.  Outside of Christ and His infinite love, all our energy, and creativity, all our endeavors and enterprises are driven by this hope.

If our hope is a specific goal, such as "one day I will be or have the best this or that' -- 'get that perfect job' -- 'find the perfect partner' -- 'become a multimillionaire' -- 'win the Olympics' - or whatever we believe will give us the greatest sense of meaning,, significance, purpose etc. - and when I do, I will finally find real happiness." 

Ironically reaching a major life goal can result in the opposite of what is hoped for - i.e. despair, not happiness. After great struggle and effort someone finally reachs what they hoped would give them some anticipated meaning or significance, only to find it ⁴does not give them the satisfaction and peace they'd hoped for. 

We sometimes hear of those reaching the pinnacle of their dreams and goals only to become totally disenchanted. Then trying to numb the pain of this new discovery through substance abuse, often winding up overdosing or taking their own life. 

Think of all the ⁵celebrities who have struggled with substance abuse after reaching wealth and fame. Their life ended as a result. 

These are people our culture admires and looks up to with the greatest regard/ admiration. After all, they have "made it" in life. 

Yet, they are miserable more often than not and sometimes more than ever. This is true far more than we like to acknowledge. To acknowledge this means we are hoping for the wrong things.

Existentialism. Man's solution to hope in a postmodern world.

The existentialist says there is no real objective purpose or meaning to our existence. Yet everything within us objects and screams out against this. We are compelled to have meaning and hope. We must have it! So much so that this world view says we must create it even when their belief system doesn't allow for it. 

So how does the existentialist handle this dilemma? They tell you to create a sense of meaning (subjectively) by doing things that make you feel meaningful and significant, i.e. create meaning by acting as if there is meaning even though their world view says it is a myth. Do something that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose even though the universe, including us, is truly pointless and a big cosmic accident that came about by chance. 

Existentialism demonstrates that hope is such a necessary part of our makeup, we must somehow create it even though it is totally incompatible with their world view.

So hope for the existentialist is creating a sense of meaning through my actions in an otherwise meaningless existence.  i.e. we must create meaning through our existing in a meaningful way, even though our existence is meaningless according to them. For the existentialist, there is no real absolute and objective truth or meaning; no objective, transcendent purpose. It is purely subjective. 

The expression "If it feels good, do it" - so prevalent today - is the "fruit" of this world view. Purpose, significance, or meaning is based solely on my experience not on any absolute objective reality that any of these are real since no such reality exists for the existentialist. 

Suicide is not uncommon among those who adopt this philosophy. For Camus (a highly regarded existentialist) - since there is no real objective meaning in the universe - "Should I kill myself?" was the essential and nagging philosophical question.

The believers hope

The ultimate hope for the believer is full satisfaction of purpose, meaning, and significance when we are face to face with Christ, the Creator - our relentless, boundless lover. It is a belief in this promise that fuels the believer's hope and actions.

This raises and addresses the question and dilemma of what is the legitimate motive for acting. Is it because, as believers, we ⁶already experience partial fulfillment in anticipation of complete fulfillment or because we are in search of something in order to be fulfilled as nonbelievers? 

The former results in acting out the hope of fullness, the latter out of emptiness. We are driven either by a desire to honor God because we already have absolute and perfect meaning through the promise/hope of eternal meaning/bliss in and with Him or the hope for some kind of meaning now through our efforts.

(ESV)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(KJV)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(NASB)  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(AMP)  NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

(ERV)  Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.

(GNB)  To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.

For a discussion on how this life is full of trouble click here. 

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¹There appears to be different kinds or levels of hope. "I hope so" would probably be the weakest and most common meaning we give that word. It's more wishful thinking than a rock-solid certainty. This is commonly what is meant when hope is used in casual conversation. 

Anticipation and expectation are a little stronger. This would be what a kid feels leading up to Christmas. Though they don't have their gifts yet, they are sure they will because they have always received them in the past and believe they will again because of past treatment. 

This video (click here) is revealing -- and possibly a humorous or cruel example of how significant hope is when kids get something other then what they hoped for at Christmas or their birthdays. This is not something we have to teach kids. Hope is an inherent part of our makeup. 

The strongest form of hope is absolute certainty. This is usually how hope is used in the bible. What you hope for is so certain it's as if you already have it when you do not yet i.e. the only piece missing is you don't yet have what you hope for but are 100% sure you will. The reason for the certainty is it is based on the unchangeable nature of the one making the promise i.e. God Himself and the actions He has already taken -- by sending Jesus -- as rock-solid proof He already loves us and will fufill what he promised. God has already acted in a way that assures us he will come through on what we are told is yet to come. 

Men make promises but they are not all-powerful and may not be able to keep them. God, however, is absolutely able and therefore always true to His word/promise. He not only has the intent (love) to do what He promises, but the ability (power) to accomplish it and also knows exactly (wisdom) what is needed. 

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²For a discussion of what it is we are all after click here.

³It is ironic that there is a universal sense -- though not always a conscious one -- that no one is permanently at peace in this life. Hence the wish for someone to rest in peace (R.I.P.) after dying. This is a back handed way of acknowledging life is a struggle and often full of turmoil. It is worth pointing out this expression began when the notion that someone who was a follower of Christ was headed for heaven - a place of perfect rest and peace - was much more commonly held. We still use the expression even though certainty of a blissful afterlife is far less common. The idea is we feel we must leave this life to be free from our restlessness -- or at least hope we will be. Complete uninterrupted peace in this life is elusive at best. Therefore we hope for it after this life.

⁴Or the thrill quickly fades so we redouble our efforts to achieve it again, or try something else in an attempt to find a better thrill and temporary rush of happiness -- or relief of pain. The fact that we go after it, again and again, indicates we never actually find it -- at least not in a lasting way -- yet hope we still can.  

⁵It's not that celebrities have more struggles. We all struggle. But it's because, more than the average person, they obtain what we all hope for and experience it first hand -- unlike most of us -- and then - to their dismay - find it doesn't deliver on its promises. To say it concisely, what they had hoped for they achieved but it still didn't work. 

⁶Though we will not experience complete fulfillment in this life, it is the anticipation of it, that gives us hope and joy. 

Like God but not

We are like God, His image bearers, but in time -- i.e. created, not eternal. Christ bears God's image eternally - no beginning or end - and we everlastingly with no end but a beginning. Christ is the only eternally begotten and perfect (exact) image bearer of the Father and we are image bearers who are begotten ¹in time. 

This, in part, is why God can love us with the same kind of love he loves his Son. Both Christ and ²we are in God's image. Because of this, both reflect the Father in a way nothing else can. 

Christ is called our elder brother for good reason. Christ is the eternal Son of God, and if we are in Him, we are the everlasting sons and daughters of this same God. But children nevertheless. 

What is fascinating is since there is no time with and for God and he knows all things, we eternally existed in the mind of God before we became a conscious being, with self-awareness, at a specific point in time.

Our coming into being was real nevertheless because prior to our actual existence, even though God knew us, we were not conscious i.e. We did not know God because we had no existence and the awareness that comes with it - a part of our experience that occurred only when we came into being . Nor did we have interaction with God - a part of both Christ's and our experience -- even though God was fully aware of us with all our unique attributes and skills - as if we already existed - and also aware of all of our days before they actually occurred. See Psa 139. 

For a further discussion on time click here. 

For a further discussion of the value of being in God's image click here. 

For a further discussion on what distinguishes us from others click here.

For a discussion on Christ being the only begotten Son of God click here. 

For a discussion on the significance of the incarnation, click here. 
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¹Certainly there are many other aspects that distinguish Christ from us. The most obvious being He is God along with all the incommunicable attributes associated with God -- all knowing, all powerful, sovereign to name some main ones. 

As God, Christ is also co-Creator with the Father. We are mere creatures, but creatures that are like God in very significant ways nevertheless. 

²Of course, many of our other attributes, as well as time, do not match Christ's. We are not the all knowing, all powerful co-Creator of all things; Christ alone is. 

Transformed by glory

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he (Christ) appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3

As children of our loving heavenly Parent (God), we are cherished. Yet, we are still not complete/mature but only infants or very young children at best. Who we are created to be, has not yet been fully realized or revealed to ourselves or others.

This "becoming" who we are ultimately designed to be won't be complete ¹until we see God in all the fullness of His love, beauty, majesty, worth... in a word, His glory. To see Him in this way, through direct experience - face to face - will perfectly confirm first-hand (not just by faith) that God is for us. 

We know He's for us now, but only by faith (sometimes it feels like He's against us). We will know then, by sight. We have only been told what Christ did for us, and we believe it. We weren't there to see and experience firsthand his earthly ministry - as well as his death, burial, and resurrection. ¹When we step into eternity, we will be right in front of him, and He in front of us, looking into each other's eyes. We will see the scars in His hands, feet, and side as evidence of His love for us personally for the first time. 

3 related questions:

*What is it about seeing Christ fully as he is that transforms us?

*How are we not seeing him now? 

*In this seeing, how are we not simply transformed but specifically made like him? 

We see this mentioned in the above passage but also alluded to in the following two passages.

Now:

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. II Cor 3:18

In eternity:

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. I Cor 13:12

All three passages speak of beholding Christ and how this transforms us. It is either implied or stated directly that this seeing is presently ongoing and progressive, but also incomplete. 

Whether this seeing occurs now or in eternity, these passages tell us seeing is the means or mechanism by which we are changed. Something about Christ, who he is in the fullness of his glory and particularly who he is for us, becomes clear (complete) in a way it is not now. Seeing Christ results in our transformation in ever-increasing degrees now, but will only occur completely in eternity. 

In what way will we be like him?

Christ is single in his focus and desire to honor his Father. His vision of the Father is so clear and so perfect, He is in constant rapture with the beauty of the Father. This resulted in a corresponding love for Him that is so great it ²moved Christ to love us in the same way he loves His Father by stepping out of the bliss of his face-to-face beatific view of the ³Father, ⁴into our broken world, with all its pain and suffering and taking on human form. He did this so we too might be with him and His Father to behold and partake (share) in the infinite love of the Father along with Him. 

As a result, we too will one day have as perfect and pure a focus on and longing for Him in the same way He does. There will no longer be distractions or obstructions. There will be a singleness of focus resulting in singleness of action i.e. we will behold the fullness of his glory and be so enthralled and enlivened by his beauty, wonder, majesty, and greatness we will desire, without distraction or interruption, to extol Him and conduct ourselves in such a way that brings the greatest honor to Him simply because it will be clearly apparent -- infinitely more than now -- that He is worthy of all honor. The greatness of his glory -- his great worth/value to us  -- will be seen and experienced so perfectly and fully, that we will see, experience, and realize He is the fulfillment of all our desires. It is Him that has been missing, and we have longed for all our lives, even if we didn't fully realize it. We will experience, for the first time, that he is all we've ever truly desired, longed for, and sought after throughout our lives and He will be right in front of us and perfectly ours and we will be His, with no obstruction, interruption, or distraction. Think in terms of presently being separated from the love of your earthly life for an extended period and eagerly anticipating being reunited and never apart again. 

How does hoping for this cause us to want to be pure? ...everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 

The more we come to love and trust him now, the greater our capacity to behold Him as He truly is in eternity. 

Everything we go through now, good, bad, or ugly is designed to help us see him more clearly and fully. The more clearly we see him now the more we will enjoy him in eternity. He is the reward in eternity for of our faithfulness in this life.

Knowing (hoping for) this moves us to draw nearer to him in greater devotion now, in this life. Learning to depend on and draw ⁵strength from God today increases our capacity to appreciate and experience him "tomorrow" in eternity. This is our reward, God himself. HE is the reward of our faithfulness. This hope moves us to even greater faithfulness.

For a further discussion on glory, I offer the following:

Created for glory II

Crowned with glory and honor

Giving and receiving glory

Why God calls us to glorify him

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¹Image experiencing some devastating loss so great you almost die. As a result, you've completely lost all your strength, and all your senses... hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling, were significantly impaired. Someone from a distant country, with the expertise and unlimited resources to restore you, heard of your plight and began to send you costly and rare treatment at no cost to you. This allowed you to keep going and get well enough to eventually come to the clinic where you are promised you'll be completely restored and made even better than before your loss. As you stabilize and begin to recover, your hope grows and you increasingly look forward to your trip to meet this person who has been treating you from afar. 

You eventually arrive, meet, and spend one-on-one time with this provider and healer. As a result, you are completely restored and the best you have ever been and more. Though you have corresponded and spoken to him many times and you feel you knew him pretty well,  you now finally see him and discover he is even kinder and more caring than you could ever imagine. 

²This love from His Father overflows and moves Christ to love us.

³The Father also gave up something of this in sending Christ to us. 

⁴Imagine someone stepping out of a pristine environment into a toxic one to rescue those dying from toxicity. 

⁵the essence of this strength we receive is a sense and awareness of how much God values us.