ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?
The world has 2 mirrors which reflect the eternal Truth and the glory of God and the God of glory. One mirror is (2 Corinthians 3:18) the eternal Living Word of God, the Bible. The other one is obedient Christians in whom (Colossians 3:16) the words spoken by Jesus Christ dwell richly.
Their lives are entirely within the framework of Scriptural principles. They remember that Jesus said (John 14:9) that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father. These Christians desire to continually be so Christ-like, to be so one with Jesus, so identified with Him, that anyone who sees them will see Jesus. They pray that they will be that quality of mirror so that everything about them will reflect the Truth about Jesus and His righteousness and beauty. Their desire is that the reflection of Jesus who is incarnate within them, will cause others to realize their own need of Jesus, the only Saviour.
We humans, all, each one of us, is a trinity having a spirit, soul and body. My body is the motorized vehicle which enables me to drive to the necessary places in order to carry out the plans and purposes conceived in my soul and spirit. My soul houses my mind, emotions and will. It is always busy, constantly active.
When Adam fell, he made every human being a ruined sinner from birth. We were born physically alive but spiritually dead (1 Corinthians 15:22) because when sin entered, the eternal Life of God was withdrawn. Of course, that ruled out all hope of heaven because nobody can enter or share God’s home in heaven who does not share God’s Life. BUT - - when I received Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour I was indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Immediately, my dead spirit came alive and throbbed with new Life and became the control centre from which the Holy Spirit issues His commands to my soul and body. My ability to reflect Jesus depends on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit – plus – my co-operation with Him in obeying His instructions. This is what brings peace - my body, soul and spirit in harmony with God.
We must stay in tune with the Holy Spirit and be keenly aware of and sensitive to His voice at all times. His voice is like the still small voice of a gentle cooling breeze or a loving whisper or a slight nudge. If we do not hear His voice we will (1 Thessalonians 5:19) quench the Holy Spirit.
(Oswald Chambers) “If you continue to disobey and (Ephesians 4:30) grieve Him, you will come to the time of grieving Him without knowing it. Unless you repent, you will grieve Him away.” How horrible and dangerous it would be to so grieve (John 14:16) our matchless Companion. Surely we would never rob ourselves of the (1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Timothy 6:6) mystery of godliness with its great gain of contentment !?!
We have to realize that disobedience is rebellion against God and rebellion is (1 Samuel 15:23) as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness as idolatry. Because when you disobey the Lord, you are worshiping a false god - - deifying yourself! Even in the slightest degree never, not ever, do not minimize disobedience. We need to be alert to the small things which can seem insignificant. We need to be aware that we can be disloyal to Jesus by a hasty word, a tone of voice, a facial expression, attitude, impatience and unthankfulness. These things do not and cannot contribute to the great gain (Philippians 1:21, 1 Corinthians 15:31) of dying to self. His Love has reached me, His Blood has cleansed me, His Life has filled me. The only life worth living is this vicarious Life of my Lord becoming my life. The Lord will perfect that that which concerns me (Psalms 138:8) and will never forsake me because I am the work of His own hands.
As we die to self, we reflect that Jesus is Lord. Do we have a sweetness and generosity that reflects (Zechariah 9:17) the greatness of God’s goodness and the greatness of His beauty? Do we distort by prejudice or do we reflect the Truth (John 3:16) that God loves the whole entire human race? Are we stunted in spiritual growth or do we reflect that (2 Peter 3:18) we are growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? When you look in a mirror, you look at what the mirror reflects. You don’t look at the mirror unless it is dirty or distorted. We Christians are only the mirrors. If we want to reflect a true image of Jesus, we must not be dirty or distorted but have clean hands and a pure heart. Nobody praises or looks at a clean mirror; but only what it reflects. So, if our life is hid (Colossians 3:3) with Christ in God then others will see - - not us - - but a clear reflection of our all-glorious Lord Jesus, the MAN of sorrows and the King of Kings.