Becoming More Like Christ Each Day

Almost everyone has a favorite go to snack.  Walking down the aisle at the grocery, one can choose from any number of sweet to salty treat.  In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan introduced me to what would become my favorite, Jelly Beans!  Not just any jelly bean, but Jelly Belly jelly beans.  Up until that point in my life, jelly beans were the discarded leftovers under the fake grass found in the attic in last year’s Easter basket.  The beans I grew up with where waxy, flavorless and simply unremarkable.  When Reagan became President, he spoke of beginning every meeting with jelly beans and was often photographed with a jar on his desk.  As a young man at the time, I knew he was old, but jelly beans, seriously?  I had to try these out.  Jelly Belly came in assorted “flavors,” not just colors.  On the back of the package was a picture of the bean and the flavor you were enjoying.  In 1983, they were so popular that they were taken into space on the Shuttle! The company introduced a buttered popcorn flavor a few years later! I have been a fan since that time!

I came to appreciate these little beauties on a greater level when I saw an “Unwrapped” episode with Mark Summers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U0IhDD7xAA  It takes about two weeks to make just one bean! Jelly Belly beans taste so good because the company takes its time and has perfected a process that injects flavor in the center and the shell.  The process is one of mixing, drying, applying and reapplying special coatings to give the bean their famous look.  Upon earning a final thumbs-up by way of visual inspection and spot taste-testing, the beans are stamped with the Jelly Belly logo and shipped out into the world. https://www.jellybelly.com/company-history

Two weeks to make one batch of beans?  Yes, the results of the attention to detail are enjoyed in the difference between Jelly Belly and every other bean!  The familiar Jelly Belly stamp on each one is a mark of approval and a promise of quality.  With this in mind, I am reminded of the process that a Christian goes through each and every day.  Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

This verse tells us that we are eternally secure and marked positionally as holy through Jesus, however, we know that we still sin. That’s why the Bible also refers to sanctification as a practical experience of our separation unto God. “Progressive” or “experiential” sanctification, as it is sometimes called, is the effect of obedience to the Word of God in one’s life.  2 Peter 3 tells us to continue to grow, Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6 that God will continue the good work in us unto completion.  Unlike the two-week process to make a Jelly Belly, it takes an individual a lifetime to become more like Christ, but we are immediately “marked” at the moment of confession.  Sometimes it seems like we will never get there.  Similar to the wait we endure for the perfect jelly bean, the process of becoming more like Jesus is well worth it!

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Serving the Savior,  
Bro. Jonathan