THE MIRACLE OF GAZING
Looking in my bathroom mirror these days is sometimes painful when I see the results of aging sketched on my face. The fresh beauty of youth has given way to the blotches and wrinkles of old age, heralding the time for the sowing the seed.
However, God’s mirror reveals a very different picture. No signs of aging or deterioration mar the vision of the face in the mirror. As I gaze into the mirror of God’s Word, whose face do I see?
“18 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 3:18 NLT
Paraphrase…
We all, having had the veil of unbelief taken away when we turned to the Lord, see the glory of the Lord reflected in our own faces as we gaze into the mirror of the Word.
How awesome is that! In Christ, God sees us whole and complete, perfected in holiness and a pure reflection of His Son. As He works in us by His Spirit through His Word and the discipline of hardship and suffering, He sees the image of His Son over our own faces.
In this life, aware as we are of our flaws and imperfections,
“12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity….”
1 Cor 13:12a
However, although we only see dimly and partially now, as we reflect on the image of Jesus in God’s Word, the Spirit is transforming us into that image more and more (from one degree of glory to another).
I love to crochet little figures of all kins of little creatures, practising a recognised craft called amigurumi. I must follow a pattern and, as I work, I keep the finished article in view. When I make a mistake, I unpick and correct whatever does not resemble the original until my finished product is an exact likeness to my pattern.
How much greater is God’s “craft” of changing us into the image of His Son, correcting in us what does not resemble His “blueprint” until, when we see Jesus face to face, we are exact replicas of Him in His beauty and perfection.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!… 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
1 John 3:1-2 NIV
What is the blueprint God is using as the pattern for His children? Paul tells us in Romans 8:29 that God’s plan is to restore in us the likeness of His Son.
“29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29 NLT
Jesus, the Son, is God’s blueprint and the four characteristics of Jesus as God’s Son encapsulate the blueprint God uses to work on us.
1. Submission.
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
Heb. 5:7 NIV
2. Obedience
“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”
Hebrews 5:8 NLT
3. Trust
“46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”
Luke 23:46 NIV
4. Love
“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
John 15:10 NIV
We have a significant part to play in this transformation process. We become what we love the most, be it glory or shame. God’s complaint to Israel was that they became what they loved.
“10 When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.”
Hosea 9:10 NIV
If we truly love Jesus, we will gaze and reflect on His glory until we become more and more like Him. John warns us…
“15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
1 John 2:15-17 NIV
Instead,
…”And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…”
Heb 12:2b
because,
“18..We all who, with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Cor. 3:18 NIV
Postscript
We must also keep in mind that the face of Jesus is not only over our faces, when we look in the mirror, but also over the faces of every other believer, even those we may not like.
However, only when they look in the mirror of God’s Word and believe its truth, will they see the vision of Him who is the pattern God uses to transform them into that image.