The Shape of Things to Come

The blessings our Savior pronounces upon the citizens of his kingdom contain the promise that he has come to redeem us; and in redeeming us, he has come to make us look more like himself. The great blessing of the kingdom consists in this: that as Christ has ascended on high, he has poured out upon his church his Holy Spirit, who forges us through the crucible of affliction to make us look like the dearly beloved of the Father.