God foreknew every person that has been called to be a member of the royal priesthood, the Israel of God. The Lord predestined us to be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ—not to remain what we are but to be radically changed until it can be said of us that we are a new creation in Christ, all of our old personality having passed away and all the new being of God.

This does not mean we lose our uniqueness as a person. It means rather that the part of us God wants to keep is submitted to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ until God can say of us: "Behold! I have made all things new."

Much of our life as a Christian is spent resisting the changes God desires to make. We fight like a cornered rat to keep the filthy rags of our sinful, fleshly nature. God patiently leads us into change.

The Personality of the Lord Jesus Christ consists in part of the following attributes.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22,23—NIV)

None of this is true of the adamic nature. Certainly it is a fact that some people are more loving, more joyful, more peaceful than others. But if their love, joy, and peace are not coming from the Spirit of God in them but from their adamic personality, then these attributes will fail when brought under enough pressure.

Their adamic love will turn to hate. But Divine love is stronger than all other forces.

Their adamic joy will turn to misery. But Divine joy flourishes in the most difficult circumstances.

Their adamic peace will turn to fear and unrest. But the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated Divine peace while surrounded with total wickedness, malice, perversion, and envy.

We do not want to remain "me." For if we remain "me" during this life we shall not be changed into His likeness when He appears.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2—NIV)

If we place in Heaven the "treasure" of the kind of person we want to be, when the Lord returns we shall be just like Him.

But if we insist on being "me," not permitting the Lord to change us today, then we shall continue to be "me" when the Lord returns, an object of reproach as the Lord's people see the meanness and selfishness of our personality.

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2—NIV)

Everlasting contempt! Do you really want to remain as you are now throughout eternity? If not, let God change you now, even though the process sometimes is painful and frightening. Then when the Lord comes you will be pleased at the new creation He has made of you.

To be continued.