The Perfect You
Do you ever wonder what the “perfect you” would look like? You know, the “you” that doesn’t need glasses, or braces, or hearing aids, or perms, or manicures, or shaves or diets? Or, have you ever wondered what it would be like to never be sick again? No more colds, flu, allergies, strep throat, tooth aches, appendicitis, pulled muscles, cancer or AIDS? Or, have you ever wondered what it would be like to never see death again, or feel physical pain, or get your feelings hurt or know sadness and mourning? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to never experience sin again?
In other words, our salvation is leading up to something, a grand finale if you will. And that grand finale is our glorification.
Our salvation is not just about being forgiven of our sins. Nor is salvation about merely becoming more like Christ. Salvation is not even just about going to heaven and avoiding hell. Remember, just like we learned with sanctification, we have been saved for a purpose, for an end result. In other words, our salvation is leading up to something, a grand finale if you will. And that grand finale is our glorification.
Glorification = Reverance for man because of God
We will not be reverenced because of who we are or what we have done, but because of whom Christ has changed us into and what he has accomplished in our lives.
Glorification sounds like a strange word, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to pick up the word “glory” in there. To give someone or something glory means to show it respect, or even better, reverence. When we glorify God we show him reverence, recognizing who he is and what he has done. So to say that Christians will one day be glorified is to say that they will one day be revered. But unlike God, we will not be reverenced because of who we are or what we have done, but because of whom Christ has changed us into and what he has accomplished in our lives.
Why you should want to die…to yourself
You will be the “perfect you” that God intends for you to be. It will be just like you were born into a world where sin had never corrupted everything.
Glorification is the final aspect of our salvation, the moment whenever we become all that God would have us to be. It happens to a Christian whenever he or she dies and enters into the presence of God. Though we do not know all there is to know about what eternity will be like, we know that God will finish our salvation, changing us forever. We will no longer get sick, because there is no more sickness in heaven. We will no longer die, because there is no more death in heaven. We will no longer sin, because there is no sin in heaven. In fact, we will no longer be sinners. Instead, we will forever be known as “those who once were sinners.” We will be perfect, just as Christ is perfect. You will be the “perfect you” that God intends for you to be. It will be just like you were born into a world where sin had never corrupted everything.
Further research: Revelation 21 and 22
Glorification is probably the most difficult part of salvation to get a handle on—there is just so much we do not know. But God’s word discusses what we will be like in eternity. Read the last two chapters of Revelation. Look in the back of your Bible or a concordance, find all the times that the words “heaven,” “eternity” or “new earth” appear and read those passages. If you are a Christian, God has a wonderful plan for your future. You have been purchased by Christ. You have been declared righteous in the eyes of God. You are becoming increasingly righteous as the Holy Spirit daily conforms you to Christ’s image. You will one day pass from this life and be released forever from the power of sin, death and suffering. You will be perfect, and all of this will happen because the God of all creation saw fit to save you from your sins. What a mighty God we serve!