XV_Mirror

XV
Mirror

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God – Colossians 1v 15

Noses, ears, eyes, hands, elbows and lips.
When we think of being made in the image of God, we could be forgiven, perhaps in our infancy, for thinking of the physical attributes that we have – eyes and ears etc.
From what I know, the bible says something different about this image we are made in. The Gospels give almost no description of Jesus’ earthly appearance (what he looked like)...though his heavenly appearance (what he was like) was a different matter...
The scriptures show us that Jesus’ heavenly appearance looks like...compassion ...kindness...self sacrifice...humility...charity...patience...obedience...and love. Genesis 9:6 talks about how we are to ‘reflect’ God’s very nature. Our lives should be reflecting or mirroring Jesus, his heavenly appearance...the very nature of God.
Now all this sounds great, right? Just about the proper thing we should be doing. But how does this actually work? In our day to day lives there is so much to do, so much expected of us – so much detail!
I like the picture up at the top because it just shows a simple, still and beautiful reflection of something that is...well pretty beautiful. So often I feel like my life is that lake, except work, relationships and busyness are all taking turns throwing stones into it, kicking up ripples and waves, messing with the reflection. Frustration, tiredness and a whole host of other things enter the picture all too soon.
I want to reflect the image...I just find it hard....and I get frustrated with myself.
The bible tells us that in the midst of this, the thing that I’ve got to remember...got to cling on to, is that even if ‘my lake’ is in a state and the ripples and waves are disturbing it, the original image of God is still there, constant, unchanging...perfect. He doesn’t go anywhere...he doesn’t leave us to it, not our God. The image is there, and in the busyness and madness of life, we can mirror that compassion, that generosity, that love...somehow in our day there’s got to be a chance to do it...surely?
I’m guessing that the more I look at God’s glory, the more I might reflect it.
The more I look at Jesus, the more I might mirror Jesus...the more I might look like Jesus.

XV_Intro

So I’ve been thinking about worship recently, trying to prepare a talk for 15 minutes on ‘what worship is’ and have been scratching my head as to where to start?
How can something so huge, so complex and so mysterious be neatly herded into a 15 minute slot? I guess the answer to that is that it can’t! Still when I think about those 15 minutes I realise that it is not only my talk that I’m trying to cram all the ‘God Stuff’ into...it’s a whole lot more.
My 15 minute quiet time...my 15 minutes of bible reading (if that!)...my 15 minute (4 song) worship session...my 15 minutes reading my Christian book...
Why do we compartmentalise our Christian lives like this so often?
In truth, it usually takes about 15 minutes for the point of my quiet time/ bible verse/ book/ song to fall out of my head and then it’s gone for the day!
I recently found myself inspired by Rob Bell’s ‘Nooma’ DVD’s and how a simple message of the Christian life could transmitted in the form of music, striking visuals and words of scripture.
I find those sorts of things helpful.
This week I was glancing through ‘my desktop’ backgrounds I saw a lot of pictures of creation that got me thinking. Words like ‘peace’, ‘journey’ and ‘mystery’ popped into my head as I looked at the pictures, somehow the picture and the word taking on a life of itself, sticking in my head for the rest of that day.
So...I decided that I wanted to write about the picture, to focus my thoughts, and see if in some small way, the picture and the word could find their way into my head and remind me of the divine that day.
Why am I telling you this? Well, I thought that I could send out a short email devotion (every now and then) with some thoughts, a picture, a verse of scripture, just pondering something of God. Maybe it might just help break that 15 minute ‘glass ceiling’ that so often is our time with God that day. I’m not quite sure what led me to do this, but I feel God wants me to give it a go and see what happens!
See what you think