Most of us have areas in our lives we have not achieved holiness. It helps to remind ourselves of how God motivates us to holiness. One way is reminding us of our destiny. Since we are destined to live as perfected new Adams in an eternal community of love with God and his followers, why would we embrace anything that doesn’t fit with our future identity? Why would we resist the restoration of God’s image in us? We long for our full Christformation so we pursue Christlike purity now. In other words, God has predestined us to holiness: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4, ESV). Christ died “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith” (Col. 1:22-23, ESV).
One of the major New Testament themes is that our destiny should be a powerful motivation for holiness. 1 John 3:2-3 states: “When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (NIV). If we have the hope, then we naturally purify. We find a similar idea in Colossians 3:4-5: “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (NIV). In other words, one day we will be with Christ in glory so we crucify anything unfit for our reunion day. God’s grace helps us to “say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12-13, NIV).
Motivation by our destiny has been a major principle of growth throughout Christian history. One could cite countless examples but we will just quote one from Walter Hilton (d. 1396) who pointed out the motivation to holiness that we find when we truly understand what it means that God will restore his image in us:
Walter HIlton
I well know that if anybody could once have a little inward glimpse of that dignity and spiritual beauty which a soul did have by nature and shall have by grace, he would loathe and despise in his heart all the glory, pleasure and beauty of the whole of this world as the stink of carrion. He would never have the wish to do anything else, night or day (except for the frailty and the bare need of the bodily nature), but desire, mourn, pray, and seek how he could come to it again.
Our future holiness will make us fit to live in harmony with God’s future community. Since this new day is coming, we stay focused on the path of purification because every other path leads us away from our future self. Awareness of our destiny should not lead to complacency but rather to vigorous action.
