“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Last month, my husband and I went to Mt. Rushmore for the very first time. As we were driving through the Black Hills of South Dakota to get to its location, we were taking in the beauty of the mountains. Then the thought came to us, “who is it that just looks at a mountain and sees a monument with the faces of the Presidents? But not only that, they create it?” You and I are similar to that mountain in South Dakota. God looked at us and predetermined that He was going to create the very image of Jesus in us!

Though it is hard for me to comprehend and believe at times, this is exactly what God had planned for me, “before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4 ESV) God has had a plan for you and me. He doesn’t see us as we do…sin scarred, messed up, worthless, etc. He sees us fully conformed to the image of Christ— beautiful. In fact, we can be assured that He has begun a good work in us and He will finish it! (Philippians 1:6)

God predestined. He marked out beforehand (Greek for “predestined”) what we will be. This predestination is a present process of a future hope. (Berean Study Notes — Bible Hub) What we are going through today is being used to produce our future that has a confident expectation of good. What is the good we expect? The greatest good we could ever experience is to be just like Jesus. God called us, or invited us (Greek for “called”) to this. He justified us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. He provided the way for us to be cleansed of our sin and placed us in right relationship with Him. He has glorified us — made us His image bearers. This is what we are now, Jesus Image, here on earth. This is what we will become more and more of as we surrender our lives to Him!

What a wonderful promise for us now and the not yet! Being just like Jesus is our glorious future in Him!