When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Most of us if we’re honest, don’t always like the image reflected. Too often, I see the lines creeping in on my face or the extra weight I’m carrying which, despite walking, playing tennis and watching what I eat, never seems to change much.
In a book I read recently ‘No Going Back’ by Lynda Page, the main character, Judith, was amazed what a difference it made to her face when she smiled and also how differently people responded to her.
When we think about God, do we have a true sense of who He is – the God of he Bible as Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6? Too often, it seems, people want to make God over into their own image. They want to relegate God to the status of good mate or a God of love but forget He is also a God of justice, judgment and Holiness. It can be hard to maintain that balance of God’s majesty and also God’s forgiveness and compassion.
The apostle John found it hard to maintain that balance of who Jesus was. As one of Jesus’ closest friends, John had eaten and walked and talked with Jesus on earth. John had been present at the transfiguration and, not long after, as Jesus hung on the cross. John had seen the risen Lord Jesus. Yet on the isle of Patmos, Jesus’ majesty left John overawed, so he ‘fell at his feet like a dead man,’ Revelation 1:17.
John also, inspired by the Spirit, wrote the exciting verses, that when Jesus returns we shall ‘be like Him,’ 1 John 3:2. Have you ever really stopped to think of how amazing that is? The verse also says that those who have this hope, need to purify himself or herself, 1 John 3:3. Are you doing this?
Our faces and our lives are like mirrors which reflect what we reflect on. If we reflect on God, His Word and the blessings and joys God has given us, this will affect our countenance and the way we approach life. Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure and lovely, think about these things, Philippians 4:8 reminds us. If we reflect on the negative aspects of life, this will also be reflected in our attitudes, actions and relationships.
We’ve all, no doubt, seen those mirrors at fun fairs that distort shapes making us appear fatter, taller or skinnier than we are. So often we are that sort of mirror to the world. People want to know what God is like. They look at his people to discover what God is like.
Too often we can present a distorted reflection because our own perception of God is wrong. Is your God the God of the Bible or an image you made up? Are you reflecting God’s image to others or are you presenting a distorted view of what God is like?
Bible verses from The New American Standard Version
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