"If ever you come near, I'll hold up high a mirror.
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as You"
I've been thinking lately about mission, vocation, purpose, plans, etc...really for my life, but in general as well. Last week I did a quick study, looking for scripture with distinct direction, rules, or demands (if you will) for life. I don't mean a "moral code" of some type, frankly I don't agree that such exists. However, the Bible does give us some very practical guidelines for what many call Christian Living (Isn't that the title of a magazine or something?). Anyways, the point is this: There are certain truths in the Bible that point you towards living in a manner "worthy of the gospel". (Titus 3, 1 Timothy 6, Philipians, etc...Paul was brilliant huh?)
They all have a common thread; each was perfectly exteriorized by Jesus. He is the empitome of each quality that you will read. Which brings me to the title - Cleaning Your Mirror.
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as You"
I've been thinking lately about mission, vocation, purpose, plans, etc...really for my life, but in general as well. Last week I did a quick study, looking for scripture with distinct direction, rules, or demands (if you will) for life. I don't mean a "moral code" of some type, frankly I don't agree that such exists. However, the Bible does give us some very practical guidelines for what many call Christian Living (Isn't that the title of a magazine or something?). Anyways, the point is this: There are certain truths in the Bible that point you towards living in a manner "worthy of the gospel". (Titus 3, 1 Timothy 6, Philipians, etc...Paul was brilliant huh?)
They all have a common thread; each was perfectly exteriorized by Jesus. He is the empitome of each quality that you will read. Which brings me to the title - Cleaning Your Mirror.
The truth is evident, Jesus is our moral exemplar, but do not limit Him to such a simple role. He is indeed the Savior of the world, the Son of God. (*Please give that a moment and feel its weight, read it again if you need to.)
"In the New Testament the art of life itself is an art of imitation..."originality" in the New Testament is quite plainly the prerogative of God alone; even within the triune being of God it seems to be confined to the Father. The duty and happiness of every other being is placed in being derivative, in reflecting like a mirror. Nothing could be more foriegn to the tone of Scripture than the language of those who describe a saint as a "moral genius" or a "spiritual genius" thus insinuating that his virtue or spirituality is "creative" or "original". If I have read the New Testament aright, it leaves no room for "creativeness" even in a modified or metaphorical sense. Our whole destiny seems to lie in the opposite direction, in being as little as possible ourselves, in acquiring a fragrance that is not our own but borrowed, in becoming clean mirrors filled with the image of a face that is not ours." - CS Lewis
And St. Augustine adds to this concept, "...pride does not only go before the fall but is a fall - a fall of the creature's attention from what is better, God, to what is worse, Itself..."
It's not good enough to just "be moral", not to mention its impossibility, but it is about becoming like Christ, not so you can be seen as righteous, holy, or spiritual, but so that He, by His grace, might be reflected through you with all attention on Him.
Right now, many of us live with our mirrors turned upside-down. So that, when the sun shines upon you, a shadow of yourself is cast upon the ground in front of you. You are being called to first, turn over your mirror, then continually clean and clean. So that now, when the sun shines upon you, it is reflected onto others for exactly what it is, the Son.
Philippians 4:23
"In the New Testament the art of life itself is an art of imitation..."originality" in the New Testament is quite plainly the prerogative of God alone; even within the triune being of God it seems to be confined to the Father. The duty and happiness of every other being is placed in being derivative, in reflecting like a mirror. Nothing could be more foriegn to the tone of Scripture than the language of those who describe a saint as a "moral genius" or a "spiritual genius" thus insinuating that his virtue or spirituality is "creative" or "original". If I have read the New Testament aright, it leaves no room for "creativeness" even in a modified or metaphorical sense. Our whole destiny seems to lie in the opposite direction, in being as little as possible ourselves, in acquiring a fragrance that is not our own but borrowed, in becoming clean mirrors filled with the image of a face that is not ours." - CS Lewis
And St. Augustine adds to this concept, "...pride does not only go before the fall but is a fall - a fall of the creature's attention from what is better, God, to what is worse, Itself..."
It's not good enough to just "be moral", not to mention its impossibility, but it is about becoming like Christ, not so you can be seen as righteous, holy, or spiritual, but so that He, by His grace, might be reflected through you with all attention on Him.
Right now, many of us live with our mirrors turned upside-down. So that, when the sun shines upon you, a shadow of yourself is cast upon the ground in front of you. You are being called to first, turn over your mirror, then continually clean and clean. So that now, when the sun shines upon you, it is reflected onto others for exactly what it is, the Son.
Philippians 4:23
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