Did you ever try to pull tape off of a roll but could not find the beginning of it? The “starter” piece of tape has already been removed, so you are doing your best to find the beginning of the tape, which blends in with the rest of the roll? If you are like me, you are spinning it around and around and yet you still can’t find it. You (well, I, anyway) take your glasses off to see if that helps, and then put them back on when it doesn’t. You then rub your fingers all around the roll to see if that will help, thinking there must be some tiny bump where the tape begins. Still nothing.
One of my favorite Bible verses (don’t worry, I’ll come back to the tape shortly!) is 2 Corinthians 3:18 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. (ESV)
The notes on this verse from my MacArthur Study Bible say “…as they gaze at the glory of the Lord, believers are continually being transformed into Christlikeness. The ultimate goal of the believer is to be like Christ, and by continually focusing on Him the Spirit transforms the believer more and more into His image…the more believers grow in their knowledge of Christ, the more He is revealed in their lives.”
Imagine knowing Jesus so well and following Him so closely that we become more and more like Him, to the point where, like the tape mentioned above, it’s hard to distinguish between us and Jesus? While we will never get there this side of eternity because we are sinful human beings, just the fact that we can become more and more like Him fills me with peace. So instead of getting annoyed when you struggle with that roll of tape, take it as a reminder that you and I are to become more like Jesus, so that people can look at us and see Him. Amen!