Becoming like God
1 John 2:29-3:6 - Wednesday, January 3, 2024, Christmas Week
In John's letter, there are three descriptions of God: God is light (1 John 1:5), God is righteous (1 John 2:29), and God is love (1 John 4:8). From each of these descriptions the author draws a practical conclusion. If God is light, we should live as children of light; If God is righteous, we should live in righteousness; and if God is love, our Christian life should be characterised by love. Since we are children of God our life should be free of the influence of sin (1 John 3:3-6).
Anything in life has its beginning and its end and whatever we undertake in life has a concrete aim. For example, the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) and the love of God is its end. John tells us that "perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18). Today, we hear the Good News that we are God's children (1 John 3:1). As Paul explains, our adoption took place in the sacrament of baptism. In that very moment, we stopped being slaves and as proof of our new identity as God's children, we have received the Holy Spirit that enables us to pray "Abba! Father!" (see Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). That is the beginning of our journey. But what is its aim?
John writes: "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). What does John mean by saying that we shall be like "him"? The answer comes from the apostolic letter of Peter. The
apostle defines the aim of the Christian faith with a phrase of "becoming partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). That is one of the most incredible statements in the New Testament. Two of the greatest theologians of the Church - Sts. Athanasius and Thomas Aquinas - commenting on this passage stated that the Son of God became man so that "we might become God" (St. Athanasius) or so that He "might make men gods" (St. Thomas).
In orthodox tradition, there is a beautiful writing on the Holy Spirit titled "Conversation of St. Seraphim with Nicholas Motovilov". Nicholas is a layperson but he has a deep desire to know the "aim of Christian life". And so, Fr. Seraphim explains to him that "The true aim of our Christian life consists
in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God". And then, there is a moment in the book when Fr. Seraphim shows Nicholas what he means by that. He invites Nicholas to look at him and the layman sees an incredible transformation:
"After these words, I glanced at his face and there came over me an even greater reverent awe. Imagine in the centre of the sun, in the dazzling light of its midday rays, the face of a man talking to you. You see the movement of his lips and the changing expression of his eyes, you hear his voice, you feel someone holding your shoulders; yet you do not see his hands, you do not even see yourself or his figure, but only a blinding light spreading far around for several yards and illumining with its glaring sheen both the snow-blanket which covered the forest glade and the snowflakes which besprinkled me and the great Elder. You can imagine the state I was in!"
Perhaps, that is the best approximation of John's and Peter's declaration that in the end we shall be sharers in the divine nature and become like Him!