REFLECTION

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus – Acts 4:13

Today’s Reflection is on what it means to be a true REFLECTION of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! God desires that His children become the Radiance of His Glory. He uses “ordinary men” for extraordinary exploits, but such individuals must learn to be “with Jesus”! It is in His Presence that we can truly reflect His Glory. To reflect is to give back an image or likeness. When Moses beheld God’s Glory, his face reflected and glowed with the glory: “When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with Him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD” (Exo.34:33-35 NIV).

When one turns to the Lord, the veil that kept the Light of God from shining (as with Moses) is uncovered or taken away and now every believer has the very light sent from God! When Peter and John were used of God to strengthen the feet of a man who had been lame from birth, they were arrested and thrown in jail. They went on to defend the name of Jesus who had brought the healing. And then, somehow, the very ones who were judging them noticed that they were reflecting someone other than themselves – the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 4:13). The ones making the accusations were Annas the high priest, Caiaphas his son, and others who were present sixty days earlier when Jesus stood in the defendant’s place. Now, they could say that Peter and John had been with Jesus because they looked like Him.

Several months later, there was a group of people who had never walked with Jesus physically, never seen Him in person, never experienced the miracles seen by Peter and John. This group of people lived hundreds of miles from Jerusalem and came to the Lord as a result of the simple witness of refugees running from persecution. These people came to know Jesus through the testimony of people who knew Jesus. Yet, they became so close to the Lord that people in their hometown of Antioch called then “Christians” – meaning “little Christs”: “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26).

The connection between the face and glory is not coincidental. Our face is the most public and recognizable part of our bodies; covered less than any other area. In a group photograph, we look at the people’s faces, not their feet. When thinking of someone, our memory always will return to that person’s face. To the extent that we are intimate with Christ, growing in Him and serving Him, to that extent we reflect His glory. Who do you look like? What are you reflecting? How do people describe you? “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2Cor.3:17). When you give the Holy Spirit room, He’ll change you and make room for you. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2Cor.3:18).

Romans 12:1-2 gives the blueprint for our continual transformation, which will not cease until we see Him face to face: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1Cor.13:12). God is a living, personal Presence, not a piece of sculptured or chiseled stone. In Christ, nothing separates between us and God. Beholding Him, our faces shine with the brightness of His face. We are transfigured much like the Messiah. Our destinies become brighter and more beautiful as He enters our lives and we become like Him!