by Vance Havner

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Romans 8:29

We may not understand predestination, and the scholars may argue about it, but it is very plain what God had in mind-our conformity to the image of His Son. In other words, he would have us to be like Jesus. We are all accepted in Him when we believe and are saints as to position, but the working out of all this in our daily lives is sometimes a slow process. We are stubborn and often “conformed to this world” instead.

It is possible to be a well-instructed fundamentalist who has progressed in Bible study, attended a lot of meetings, and learned “all the answers.” And yet not be much like Jesus. Some of us are not much more like Him than we were ten years ago. We boast that we are not babes but mature Christians because we can take strong meat in Bible teaching; but are we not still babes if our progress has not been “in Christ,” knowing Him better and becoming more like Him?

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