Mirror Image

I’ve been a Bible student for at least thirty years, a Bible teacher for more than twenty, and a Bible writer for ten. I’ve taught, studied, or written about every book in the Bible. I have a bachelor’s degree in Theology and Biblical Studies and have almost completed my master’s. But I’ve barely scratched the surface of biblical truth. I have only a minuscule glimpse of God. There’s far more to discover than my finite middle-aged, deep-southern mind can grasp. Still, I will keep digging until I draw my last breath. And then I will know more.

Paul said that in this life, “we know in part . . .” (1 Cor 13:9). We know fragments of truth, and that makes it hard to believe because there is so much we don’t know. The world thinks of us as fools for trusting in what we cannot see and cannot fully comprehend. Yet. One of the most important things God has been teaching me is to keep an eternal mindset. That’s not a Pollyanna “it’ll all turn out okay in the end” attitude. An eternal mindset isn’t focused on the circumstances, it’s focused on the sovereign King of the universe. The Lord God Almighty. The Creator of all that is.

Here is what I believe is at the heart of an eternal mindset. You and I – and every human that was, is, or is to come – is made in the Imago Dei – the image of God. Before He scooped up the dust of the earth God said, “Let us make man in our own image” (Gen 1:26). And that is what He did. We are walking, talking, breathing expressions of our Creator. But sin separated us from our Creator and marred the perfect image we were meant to bear. It’s what Paul meant in verse 12: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror . . .” We look at our spiritual reflection, knowing we’re supposed to see God, but we see only ourselves – our sinful human selves.

But one day, because of Jesus, we will see that perfect image. No, we won’t be looking into a divine mirror, we will be looking at the Divine Himself. Paul says, “then we shall see face to face.” We will see God. Face to face. I can’t even imagine. But I long for it. It’s my heart’s highest desire. I hope it’s yours too, Beloved.

“Lord, I’m Tired”

I looked in the mirror this morning and said, “Who is that tired woman?” And in the same breath, I replied, “It’s me.” I’m not going to lie, we’ve been through some really difficult things in the past several years. I’m worn out. And I know you are too. We’ve all been struggling lately. Between COVID and inflation and our own hard stuff, it’s been a rough time for most of us. This morning a verse from Isaiah came to mind: “ ‘Comfort, comfort my people,’ says your God. ‘Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed . . .’” (Isaiah 40:1-2). “Lord,” I asked, “when will my hard service be completed?”

Isaiah was a prophet and in the context of the verse, the people’s “hard service” was the coming Babylonian captivity that would be “payment” for their sin and idolatry (v. 2). But our sin debt has been paid by Jesus on the cross. God will not charge us again for what Jesus has satisfied. Why are we – New Covenant believers – enduring hard things?

James said we “face trials of many kinds” because they develop perseverance which makes us “mature [or perfect] and complete, not lacking anything” (1:3-4). Paul agreed with James adding, “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us” (Romans 5:4-5).

Most importantly, suffering makes us more like Jesus. The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus was perfected through suffering (5:8-9). (That is the completion of His divine work of salvation.) And Paul continues the idea when he said, “In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” which is “to be conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:28-29). All things include suffering.

So back to my question, “When will our hard service be completed?” When the work of suffering is completed and we look more like Jesus than ourselves. Beloved, I know you’re weary, but your trials are not in vain. Let suffering do its perfecting work. You may not see the difference in the mirror, but God will see it in your heart.

In God’s Eyes

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me’” (Genesis 16:13).

When you looked in the mirror this morning, what did you see? Wrinkles? Gray hair? A tired expression? That’s what I saw. But God doesn’t see me the say way I see myself. All through the Bible, He tells men and women that He sees what no one else does – not even themselves.

Moses saw himself as a stuttering criminal on the lam, but God saw him as the deliverer of His people (Exodus 3:10).

Gideon saw himself as “the least in the weakest clan of Israel,” but God saw him as a “mighty warrior” (Judges 6:15, 12).

David’s father Jesse saw his son as the tender of the family’s sheep, but God saw him as the shepherd-king of His people.

Where the woman with an issue of blood saw herself as ostracized and unclean, Jesus saw her as a “daughter” (Luke 8:48). Simon the Pharisee saw the woman washing Jesus’ feet as a “sinful woman,” but Jesus saw her as a model of love and forgiveness (Luke 7:36-50). Mary Magdalene, whom the whole town knew as a demon-possessed woman Jesus saw as the first witness to His resurrection (John 20:10-18).

And on and on I could go.

God sees you and me far more clearly than we could ever see ourselves.  Who you are in the sight of others, or even in your own eyes, is not who you are in the sight of the God who created and redeemed you.   For those who are in Christ, He sees us as His children (1 John 3:1), with a purpose and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Where others see us through the mistakes we’ve made, God sees us with all the potential He placed in us from before we were born.  When we see ourselves through the worldly standards of beauty and success, God sees us through the beauty of His Son and His victory over death.  When we see ourselves as unworthy, hopeless, useless, and unwanted He sees us as valuable, and desired, because He sees us through eyes of love and compassion.

How do you see yourself, Beloved?  When you consider that question, always come back to this truth:  the God who created you sees you as so much more than you can ever imagine.  Ask Him to give you His perspective so you can live as the child of God that you are.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them” Genesis 1:27.

I have a beautiful old mirror that I rescued it from an abandoned church that had become a “relief station” for transients (yes, I got permission to take it).  The room was filthy and the mirror reflected (pun intended) the condition of the room.  It smelled so bad I took it home in a doubled plastic bag and set it on the porch to let it air out a little.  After a couple of weeks I examined it more closely.  It was covered in grime and tar from cigarette smoke.  The felt backing had rotted away and there were scratches to the silver on the back, but the Art-Deco design on the front was still intact, so I cleaned it up the best I could and hung it in my study.  It wasn’t useful at all as a mirror, but it was a pretty piece that added a touch of character to my room.

A friend came by one day and saw the mirror, and after I told her to story, she recommended someone she said could possibly restore it.  I took the mirror to him and left it in his care.  A few weeks later, he called to say my mirror was ready, and he thought I would be pleased with the results.  He underestimated my reaction.  My mirror was beautiful!  He had cleaned it better than I ever could, restored the silver and recovered the back with new felt.  He had refreshed the paint in the design and polished the whole thing up until it more than shined – it glowed!  Most of all, it was restored to its original purpose, an instrument of reflection.  I re-hung it by the doorway and checked my hair and makeup everyday as I left for work.  It was truly a mirror now, not just an interesting decoration.

You and I were created to reflect the Imago Dei – the image of God.  In His original design, God could look at His human creation and see Himself in us.  But just as that mirror had been covered over with filth and no longer served its purpose, sin has covered over the beautiful image of God in mankind and we no longer act as the reflection of our Creator.  We are stained with the filth of the world in which we live.  We are useless as the image bearers of God, and we know we are not living up to our divinely ordained purpose, so we try to clean ourselves up – just as I tried to clean up that mirror.  I did my best, but my efforts fell far short of bringing my mirror back to its original condition.  It took a professional restorer to finish the task.

It takes Someone far more capable than you and me to restore us to our original purpose.  It takes a Savior.  It takes a great sacrifice – a divine sacrifice – to clean off all the world’s filth.  It takes a great power – Holy Spirit power – to bring the Imago Dei back to its original condition.  Beloved, you and I were not meant to reflect the world around us, we were fashioned to reflect the God of the Universe, our Creator.  Will you trust yourself to God and allow Him to restore you to the beautiful purpose for which you were created?

Holy Father, I could have left that mirror in that filthy place, but I saw the beauty under the grime.  You see the hint of Your own image in us, and You have given everything to rescue and restore us to our original condition.  Thank you Lord.  I surrender my life to You – cleanse me and make me once again a reflection of You.  Amen.