While we do try to reflect a perfect God, we are not perfect yet.

2 Corinthians 3: 16-18

¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

In today’s passage the word contemplate is ‘to reflect as in a mirror’. Earlier in the chapter it talks about Moses’s face shining after he had seen the glory of God and how he had to hide his face behind a veil. However, that was the old covenant.

Under the promise that we have in Jesus, we do not need to hide our faces from those around us, but instead we are called to reflect the light of Christ and God’s glory so that they might see a glimpse of the kingdom.

Unfortunately, often our mirrors are dusty, cracked, or warped and our own imperfections will interfere with the reflection of God. This is often what others around us might focus on. If we say we are Christians why are we sometimes not Christlike?

Polishing a mirror to the highest degree of reflection is an ongoing task. We are work in progress, a transformation going stage by stage until we no longer need to just reflect His glory because we are in it for eternity.

We have to make sure that we don’t set ourselves up as stand-ins for God. This would be like the mirror drawing attention to itself rather than do its job of reflecting an image. Yes, there will be times when we are less than perfect, when there are bubbles or scratches on the glass. But if we have represented ourselves in humility to those around us, they should still see glimpses of the glory of God rather than focussing on what we have got wrong. And they should also see the love of God and patience with us to use to reflect Himself even though we are far from worthy.

Instead of trying to be the best in people’s eyes, we should be reminding them that the best is yet to come. Let us hold on to that promise ourselves too and reflect on being in the presence of God, transformed from glory to glory.

Head: Think for a moment how what you are doing or not doing affects the reflection of Christ.

Heart: How does it feel to know that you have been chosen to reflect God’s light to those around you? Take this to God in prayer, whether it is joy and thankfulness or asking for courage and strength!

Hands: Are there some ways you can let the Spirit polish your mirror today? Perhaps breaking a habit or forming a new one?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me spread your glorious gospel through my life to others. I am sorry for the times when I got in the way of just reflecting your grace. Please help me be more like you. Amen.

A song to listen to: Grace awaiting me

Nicole Davenport- Creek Road Presbyterian Church- Carina