With Unveiled Faces
How do we reflect the image of God? How do we become the kind of people who would actually enjoy spending time with Him? What do we reflect to those around us? A mirror reflects whatever it is pointed towards. So what are we pointed towards? Do we reflect Christ? Or do we reflect the world around us? Is our reflection of Christ accurate? Is it becoming ever more accurate?
This blog was born out of a class assignment to write a reflective journal on the Gospel of Matthew. Here's the first installment:
Matthew 1-4
I was struck by several things as I read through these chapters – the beauty and simplicity of the story of Jesus’ birth, and yet its harshness and tragedy as well; God’s complete sovereignty and guiding hand over all events, particularly as He spoke and worked through angels and dreams; fulfillment of prophecy – through Joseph’s actions and in John's and Jesus’ lives. But one of the things I found most striking was how much John’s harshness was directed at the religious elite of his day. Lately I’ve been discussing methods of evangelism with some acquaintances, and several of them are arguing for a kind of “hellfire and brimstone” type of evangelism that asks people if they’ve kept the Ten Commandments, tells them since they haven’t they’re headed for hell, but that Jesus provides a “way out.” But this focus on judgment is much more typical of John’s preaching than Jesus’, and even in John his severest warnings were given to the religious folk, not the garden-variety sinners off the street. It seems to me that we should focus these harsh judgments and warnings on ourselves – do we live up to the standards which Jesus described as true of people in the kingdom? (No!) Are we hypocrites as the Pharisees were? (Yes!) What are we doing to produce good fruit?
I’m also amazed at the way people were drawn to Jesus. All He had to do was “call them” (4:21) and immediately they left everything they had ever known to follow Him. The things He taught, preached, and did drew crowds to Him. People came from all over to receive healing and to see this man they had heard about. What was it about Him that had this powerful draw? How can we become like Christ in this way, so that people are drawn to us and the message we bring of peace with God through His Messiah? Paul says in 2 Cor. 2:14 that God “always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him” and in 3:18, “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.” These passages describe Christ and perhaps some others like Paul to a T. But I don’t feel like they describe me, or the church at large. I don’t feel like I’m being led “in triumphal procession… spreading everywhere the fragrance of … Him” or that I “reflect the Lord’s glory” very well at all. I suppose the answer is in the latter part of the verse – this comes from the Lord. So why isn’t His church, why aren’t I, following in His footsteps and seeking this from Him? Oh, how I long to be part of a community that shows forth His glory, preaching and healing and spreading the fragrance of Christ so that people are irresistibly drawn towards what they see there. We need so much to seek after Him.
This blog was born out of a class assignment to write a reflective journal on the Gospel of Matthew. Here's the first installment:
Matthew 1-4
I was struck by several things as I read through these chapters – the beauty and simplicity of the story of Jesus’ birth, and yet its harshness and tragedy as well; God’s complete sovereignty and guiding hand over all events, particularly as He spoke and worked through angels and dreams; fulfillment of prophecy – through Joseph’s actions and in John's and Jesus’ lives. But one of the things I found most striking was how much John’s harshness was directed at the religious elite of his day. Lately I’ve been discussing methods of evangelism with some acquaintances, and several of them are arguing for a kind of “hellfire and brimstone” type of evangelism that asks people if they’ve kept the Ten Commandments, tells them since they haven’t they’re headed for hell, but that Jesus provides a “way out.” But this focus on judgment is much more typical of John’s preaching than Jesus’, and even in John his severest warnings were given to the religious folk, not the garden-variety sinners off the street. It seems to me that we should focus these harsh judgments and warnings on ourselves – do we live up to the standards which Jesus described as true of people in the kingdom? (No!) Are we hypocrites as the Pharisees were? (Yes!) What are we doing to produce good fruit?
I’m also amazed at the way people were drawn to Jesus. All He had to do was “call them” (4:21) and immediately they left everything they had ever known to follow Him. The things He taught, preached, and did drew crowds to Him. People came from all over to receive healing and to see this man they had heard about. What was it about Him that had this powerful draw? How can we become like Christ in this way, so that people are drawn to us and the message we bring of peace with God through His Messiah? Paul says in 2 Cor. 2:14 that God “always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him” and in 3:18, “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.” These passages describe Christ and perhaps some others like Paul to a T. But I don’t feel like they describe me, or the church at large. I don’t feel like I’m being led “in triumphal procession… spreading everywhere the fragrance of … Him” or that I “reflect the Lord’s glory” very well at all. I suppose the answer is in the latter part of the verse – this comes from the Lord. So why isn’t His church, why aren’t I, following in His footsteps and seeking this from Him? Oh, how I long to be part of a community that shows forth His glory, preaching and healing and spreading the fragrance of Christ so that people are irresistibly drawn towards what they see there. We need so much to seek after Him.
posted by Erin at 9:19 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home