Edith Wharton once said, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle OR the mirror that reflects it.” Her words remind me that before you can ever truly reflect Christ to others, you must first see Christ in you.
Colossians 3:10-11 says, “You’ve become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like its Creator. Where this happens, there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, uncivilized person, slave or free person. Instead, Christ is everything and in everything.”
As Christians, we know there are certain ways we should speak, think, and act towards others, but what does it say about our belief in God’s Word when we withhold these same things from ourselves?
Change Your Perspective
In other words, we need to be kind, humble, gentle, and patient… with ourselves. We need to forgive… ourselves (the way God has forgiven us). We should love… ourselves (the way God loves us). And we need to allow God to reveal His kindness… to us (not just to others).
Paul said, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Pretend for a moment you are looking in a mirror as I read this verse aloud to you — “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord…” You probably didn’t wake up this morning, look in your mirror and exclaim, “Look at all that glory!” No, doubtful. But this is what God sees (because of Christ in you).
To be unveiled means to take the mask off and truly reveal yourself. But this instruction is directed more toward allowing OTHERS TO SEE US (not the mess necessarily, but the redeemed mess). The Bible says we have been redeemed and repurposed for Christ– and isn’t this what makes Pinterest and DIY shows so popular? We love to see something that was thrown out as junk turned into something amazing.
Let’s read this verse in the Amplified: “And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.”
The key word in this verse is continued. In other words, we need to continually (without interruption or distraction) face the mirror of God’s Word and let it transform us. Mirrors always accurately reflect or imitate what is put before them. But therein is the problem: God’s Word is a mirror– and we often feel inferior to it. But that’s also the solution! God’s Word is a mirror— so as we continue to look at it, we will be transformed!
The mirror of God’s Word isn’t like our natural mirrors. It has the unique ability to show what God sees, not what we see.
Useful for the Master
One of the most encouraging scriptures in the whole Bible is 2 Timothy 2:20-21, which says, “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
The Amplified says, “Now in a large house there are not only vessels and objects of gold and silver, but also vessels and objects of wood and of earthenware, and some are for honorable (noble, good) use and some for dishonorable (ignoble, common). Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things [which are dishonorable—disobedient, sinful], he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified [set apart for a special purpose and], useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”
The encouraging part of this passage is that we have been given complete control over our outcome. No matter how you came to Christ, you are NOT doomed to stay that way.
Think about Rahab. She is mentioned in Hebrews 11 (the“Faith Hall of Fame”) as the “harlot Rahab” (because that’s where she started). But Rahab is honored among great men because that’s not where she stayed! Rahab was the mother of Boaz, who was the grandfather of Jesse, the father of King David. All of these are in the direct line of descendants to Jesus Christ.
Paul told Timothy: “…if anyone cleanses himself” they will be a vessel of honor. It wasn’t overnight, but little by little, I made adjustments in my early years as a baby Christian. I chose to believe God’s Word and then act on God’s Word. ONE DECISION AT A TIME, I was transformed more and more into His image.
Our value is not lost based on performance— our usefulness might be, but never our value. To be useful for the Master, you have to choose to make those adjustments in your life as God’s Word reveals things to you. What do I mean? If you receive Jesus as your Savior, you become the righteousness of God in Christ (according to 2 Corinthians 5:21). This is your value. But if you never “cleanse yourself” of former sinful thoughts, attitudes, and actions, your usefulness to God will be limited (not your value to Him– just your usefulness).
It will always be YOUR CHOICE. Just like it’s your choice to give grace, love, and kindness to yourself (and not just to others), it’s also up to you to choose God’s way of doing things.
