The three desires to see Jesus, to be like him and to be united to God are the most prominent desires in the history of Christian spirituality. In fact, these three desires will be fulfilled after Jesus returns. We will experience a threefold progression. We will see Jesus which will instantly detonate an explosion of love in our hearts. Filled with love and fully opened to him, he will give us new bodies and transform us into his image. We see this two-fold progression in 1 John 3:2 which explains that “when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (ESV). Then comes the third and final change. Once we are Christformed then Christ will “present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing” (Eph. 5:27, ESV). We will be a pure bride fit for the groom and so we will enter into spiritual marriage with God and be “the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:9, ESV).
This is the ultimate progression and consummation of loving God and it is the hope that anchors our lives. It will be the pinnacle of human bliss and it will unfold forever.
Our spiritual life on this earth is similar to this threefold progression. Today we will look at the practice of focusing on Christ. Consider 2 Cor. 3:18: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” (NIV). This is one of the most foundational passages for spiritual growth. The “unveiled faces” refers to the times in Exodus 34:29-35 when Moses wore a veil when he was with the Israelites because they were afraid of his face which would shine from having seen God. But when Moses went to talk with God he would remove his veil.
So in this passage Paul is saying that we are like Moses on Mt Sinai. Moses talked to God directly. God made all his goodness to pass in front of Moses (Exodus 33:19). God let Moses see his back (Ex 33:23). No one else, not even animals, were allowed to go see God with Moses. Yet now, God allows us to be like Moses and see his glory in Christ without a veil. This doesn’t mean we have physical sight of God – we only see him “darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12) – but rather that our spirit in his Spirit can gaze upon the Lord.
” So now we have the privilege of contemplating “the Lord’s glory”. We embrace this because we love him. “
So now we have the privilege of contemplating “the Lord’s glory”. We embrace this because we love him. And this contemplation leads to “transformation into his image”. Obviously then, this contemplation of the Lord is vital to our maturity. Thus, this is a top priority habit that we should continuously cultivate. We refer to this practice as Christ-focus. This focus keeps open the flow of transforming grace from God.
This is the contemplation that will feed Christformation. It is not especially difficult. It is simply gradually learning to remind yourself to have a soft focus on Jesus throughout your day. I say “soft focus” because we need to apply hard focus to the tasks we are doing, but at the same time we can have a soft focus on God or Jesus in the back of our mind or heart. In the beginning you might want to say his name “Jesus” over and over until the focus becomes embedded in your soul. Then you can just remind your self to refocus throughout the day. You might want to say a few words when you refocus but after that the focus is just a matter of centering on the place inside you where the Spirit dwells.
