Romans 8
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son… – Vs 29 NIV
There was a movie out not too many years ago called "Like Mike." It's about a young inner-city kid named Calvin who lives in an orphanage. One day he finds an old pair of basketball shoes with the faded letters MJ handing on a power line. One stormy night, as he attempts to remove the shoes, Calvin and the shoes are struck by lightning. When he later puts the shoes on, he discovers that he has the basketball skills of Michael Jordan. Of course, in true Hollywood fashion, he ends up getting signed to an NBA team and wows the world with his amazing feats of athletic prowess. Sure, it's pure fantasy and every little boy's dream, but it's also a great picture of what this verse seems to be saying.
Instead of being made "like Mike," I have been made like Christ. God determined in advance that I would be made into the image of His Son, even before I became a Christ-follower. That was part of His divine plan. In order for that to happen, He placed His Spirit within me. I'm not the same-old-me anymore. I have new powers and abilities that allow me to live a life I never could have lived before. I can do amazing feats I was never able to do before. I can say, "No!" to sin when before I always had to give in. God has placed me on His divine team. He has made me His heir. Like Calvin in the movie, I find myself no longer an orphan living in poverty, but a son of God who has resources and abilities I never had before, and I did nothing to earn them. They were given to me.
God is in the process of making a significant change in me. He has already called Me. He has justified me. He is sanctifying me. He is progressively conforming me more and more into the very likeness of Christ Himself. That is where the analogy of the movie breaks down. Calvin got all of Michael Jordan's skills immediately. I have the capability, but must learn to live out that capability over time. I must discover the power within me as I do battle over which will control me – my sinful flesh or the Spirit. I must realize that I have the ability to live a new life. I can be and am being conformed into the image of Christ. Each and every day.
Father, Thank You for reminding me that You are conforming me into the likeness of Your Son every day. It is a fact, not just a promise. I have the power to become just what you determined I would be. You cause all things to work together for good – my conformity to Christ. You use everything that happens in my life to accomplish Your objective – my conformity to Christ. Let me never forget that. Amen