Spiritual Strength For Each Day
“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).
The hope we have in Him necessitates an ever deeper purification. The person of Jesus, to whom we come ever nearer, obliges us to seek ever deeper cleansing. What does this mean in practical terms? The answer is, according to the decrease of the distance between Him and us timewise, we should become increasingly like Him. Why? Because it is the result of our progressive sanctification, “We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Now my earnest question to you is, is your spiritual life drawing nearer to the Lord in light of the fact that timewise we are drawing nearer? Is your heart becoming more and more fervent, more mild, more like Jesus? How is this progressive sanctification expressed? In the increase of the characteristics of Jesus in our nature. The clearer we see the goal and the nearer we come to Jesus, the more we will be able to hope in Him alone completely. This concentration on His person gives us ever stronger confidence, and our hope will become alive. Hope is an expression of faith.
