Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.
— John 20:17
Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.
— Rom. 8:29
We should also enjoy Christ as our older Brother. John 20:17 tells us, “Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” When Christ was resurrected He became the firstborn Son of God, and we became His many brothers (Rom. 8:29).
To say that the Lord is our older Brother means that He is the pioneering One. He has perfected a certain kind of humanity, and we should follow Him. The way He lived, we should also live. This designation of Christ as our older Brother also means that we will become the same as He is. We are being conformed to His image. In other words, He is a prototype of what we are becoming. Christ today is the image of our future. Someday we will all be exactly the same as this wonderful Christ is today.
Adapted from Born Again, pages 55-56.
Monday: “Our Good Shepherd”