Predestined to be Conformed to the Image of Christ (Romans 8:29)

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom 8:29)

Today’s devotional thought is not really focused on predestination, even if that’s the first thing my students want to talk about when they encounter Romans 8:29. Suffice it to say that predestination is important to me; I gladly dive deep—at least as deep as I can—into this doctrine with my students. But an analysis of predestination isn’t my purpose today. My aim is to think about the goal of predestination–becoming conformed to the image of Christ.

Romans 8:29 explains that God not only knew ahead of time, but also purposed that those he justified would be “conformed to the image of his Son.” God, expressing lavish, undeserved love, decided not only to call, justify, and glorify us (Rom 8:30), he planned to shape us into the likeness of Christ—to make us like Christ.

Travel with me in your thoughts to eternity past. God has just announced his decision to create a world filled with people. He didn’t have to. As Father, Son, and Holy Spirit he was perfectly happy without humans around. But he also knew that creating people would be good, which is what he joyfully exclaimed after each day of creation. But unlike all the other things he had made during the first five days of creation, he molded humans into something more like himself than anything else he had created. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion…’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:26-27).

But as you know, humans fell, and great was their fall. Sin entered the world, and the image of God in humans was marred. Twisted. Distorted. It wasn’t obliterated. That’s why a human has no right to take someone else’s life; humans were created in the image of God (Gen 9:6). But Adam and Eve—and we too as their offspring—were spiritually disfigured when we allowed sin in.

God continued to tenaciously prepare the way for his children to share his image, despite the fall. And when God intends something, you can be sure that it will happen. He sent Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, the perfect image of God, to re-call, re-form, re-shape, re-create us…into the image of Christ. As some children increasingly resemble their parents as they get older, God’s intended outcome was that we would begin to look more and more like Christ.

If you ever find yourself wondering why God allows suffering to invade your life, remind yourself that God’s highest purpose for you is not your comfort, but to conform you to Christ’s image. If you ever wonder why your prayers don’t get answered quickly —and find yourself groaning under that realization (Rom 8:23-26)—recollect that God is remaking you into his image as he did with the first humans on the sixth day of creation. If you find that relationships are hard, that days are long, and that you haven’t reached the goals you set for yourself when you were young, remember that God’s primary goal for you is probably different from your youthful goals. His goal for you is Christlikeness. He is unwavering in his commitment to shape you into the image of Christ. He won’t stop until he has accomplished his purposes in you. That’s something worth staking your life on.

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This post was an adaptation of devotional #35 in my book: How to Live an ‘In Christ’ Life: 100 Devotional Readings on Union with Christ.

We’re only one month away from the release of my new book (with Keith Krell): God’s Purposes in Our Pain: 10 Ways God Uses Suffering for Our Good. It’s available for pre-order: HERE, HERE, and HERE. The post you just read only briefly touches on one of God’s purposes for suffering; this book will address the why-suffering question head-on. Keith (my co-author) and I are counting down the days until we can share this book with everyone!