Reflecting the Lord

Reflecting the Lord

“…but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NRSVUE).

Army Corp of Engineers campground, Whitney, Texas

 If we are to be transformed into the mirror image of the Lord, it needs to be a sharper image than the reflection shown above. There is a little movement in the water, so the reflection is not sharp. It is close, but not exactly the same as what is being reflected. To be a perfect image, there must be no disturbance of the water. It needs to be completely still. 

 So it is with us if we are to reflect exactly the image of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Genesis 1:27 tells us: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (NIV). It is obvious that we do not exactly reflect the image of God in our lives. It is our privilege to be “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Once we accept Jesus as Lord, we begin the transformation, and our growth from that point on depends upon us. 

 As we read His Word, communicate with Him in prayer, receive teaching from His appointed teachers, and submit ourselves to His will, we grow. Our rate of growth is dependent upon the time we are willing to commit and our willingness to learn. As we draw more intimate with Him, we will grow closer to His image, just as the reflection in a lake becomes clearer as the ripples smooth out. It is my belief that we will become the mirror image of our Lord at His return, for 1 John 3:2,3 tells us: “But friends, that’s exactly who we are. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own” (MSG). So, the goal is not to become exactly like Him while we are on earth, but to continue to grow closer to His image day by day.