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Monday, July 29, 2013

Reflection

I spend a lot of time reflecting on God—thinking and studying about Him. Yet, that is NOT what God intended. 

“God made humans in his image reflecting God’s very nature. You’re here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!” (Genesis 9:6 MSG)

God wants us to reflect His image, NOT just reflect on Him. Thinking, studying, and meditating may help us to understand Him—which is a great start. Yet God’s intention is for us to mirror Him.

In order for a mirror to reflect anything, there has to be light. I tried the following experiment: I went into a bathroom with no windows and turned off all the lights. I stood in front of the mirror. I couldn’t see anything. Then I took a flashlight and aimed the light at the mirror. I could see a shadowy image of myself if I hit the beam of light at a certain angle. Then I turned the flashlight around so that the beam was now pointed at the subject that was meant to be illuminated (in this case my face). The reflection in the mirror became clearer. Then I just turned on all the overhead lights in the bathroom. Now, I could see everything—myself, the towel rack, the wall behind me, the soap dispenser, the spots that needed to be cleaned on the mirror…

I imagine that the mirror is our earthly life and the reflected image is our soul. When God looks at the mirror of our life, He is expecting to see Himself in our souls. We tend to shine what little light we have onto the mirror of our earthly life instead of focusing the beam on the Subject that is meant to be illuminated. And then we wonder why everything is so shadowy and unclear. God’s natural light makes everything clearer. Unfortunately, this includes the blots on the mirror that mar His reflection. The scummy spots in our character obscure His image.

God’s nature is productive, fruitful, and bountiful in all that is good, loving, and pure. And when our souls reflect these characteristics, we mirror God’s image.

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