Confirmed to the world or Confirming to the glorious image of Christ?

Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed. -Rom 12:2.; unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: -Eph 4:13; But we all, ... are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. -2 Cor 3:18.

Christians are called out of the world and out of the kingdom of darkness into God’s marvelous light and into the kingdom of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The root word is ‘ekklesia’. Our thought, word and deed must be different from that of the world. Jesus said of His disciples, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world". -Jn 17:16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.- 1 Jn 2:16.

The church at Rome of the first century AD was a typical example. Though they were in Rome they were not Romans; they were the 'beloved of God'. (Rom 1:7). Their faith was spoken of throughout the world. - Rom 1:8.

Sadly, we Christians show no separation from the world. Believers think like the hopeless unbelievers. Saints speak like the wise men of the world. The disciples of Jesus do like the ungodly sinners. Christian parents amass wealth facilitating a godless life for our children. Christian children show no fear of God; they don't see any trace of it in their parents. Our men indulge in evil practices and filthy habits; our women tend to play the 'husband' in the family; our young women dress immodestly and sow lust in the minds of men; our young men cherish partying and revelry; our elders enjoy gossiping and backbiting; our leaders serve mammon and keep adding assets; our pastors devour the sheep by fleecing them in the name of mobilizing church building funds. There is more evidence of works of the flesh than exhibition of the fruit of the Spirit among the believers.

Many are looking for a mythical 'Antichrist' during whose 'seven year reign' (this is also a hypothesis; nowhere in the scripture) they are determined to die as martyrs; none wants to live for Christ now so that they can qualify for the moment of rapture when their Lord would appear in glory. No saint of God is looking up and lifting our head as our 'Redemption' draws near. Shameful state of affairs indeed!

How can we confirm to the glorious image of Christ if we do not know what His glorious image is? Jesus is the image of the invisible God. As the Son of God, He exhibited the characteristics of His Father throughout His approximately thirty-three and a half year sojourn on earth. As a perfect man, He kept submitting to the will of God whose Spirit enabled Him to exhibit His fruit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. We read about the practical proofs of these in the life of Christ in the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We read about the evidences of these in His disciples in the Acts of the Apostles. We read how we can emulate the life of Christ in the twenty-one epistles written by Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude. And we read about how this kind of a life is rewarded in Revelation. So, the key is reading about the Word of God in the word of God, the Bible and seeking the help of the Holy Spirit of God to make the word our experience in our everyday life.

Confirming to the glorious image of Christ does not happen overnight. It is a process. The tree might take time to bring forth fruit. But, there is certainly a beginning to this process and there is a continuous progress towards the fruit-yielding stage. And with a continuous communion with the 'True vine', we must yield 'much' fruit from thenceforth. We are expected to 'bring forth fruit in his season'. Remember Psalm 1?