The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"A Heart Like This"
Part 2 - His Glory Reflected
The discovery and ongoing exploration of a Heart like this, that is, God's perfectly unselfish character, has a fascinating effect on the humble, trusting heart making the journey.
"Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18).
How does knowing God's glory of devotion to others result in our mirroring His image? First, the word for "glass" in the Apostle Paul's declaration above is translated from the Greek root word, "Kataprizo," meaning mirror. This means believers are to look into our Lord's mirror and see His glory reflected. How can this be? Paul answers.
"Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
We must see ourselves as inhabited by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, first, because it is true. The realization also provides the hope of living in the devotion to others made possible only by our Lord's living and active presence within us. "Reckon ye also yourselves… to be alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). Christ lives in us. We live through Him - this is the New Testament protocol whereby God enables His trusting children to live in a manner that glorifies Him and enables us to "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" (Galatians 2:20; I John 4:9; Ephesians 5:2).
Left to its inclinations and impulses, our flesh would lead us along dark paths of selfish egotism. "The flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17). God has not left us to such frustration, of course, but rather sent the Holy Spirit to birth us as a "new creature" when we believed (II Corinthians 5:17). This "new man, created in righteousness and true holiness" serves as a living temple of God, bearing many wonderful qualities of His being and nature, with one preeminent:
"The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).
Do we view ourselves accordingly? Do we consider ourselves as "alive unto God," as Paul commanded? If so, we realize that our Heavenly Father enables us to love as the Lord Jesus loves. We do not always do so, but the potential - His potential - always resides in our spirits through the presence of the Holy Spirit. To the degree we realize and affirm this truth by faith will be the degree to which we walk accordingly. Certainly, by ourselves, we have no hope to "walk, even as He walked" (I John 2:6). However, the very point of our Father's grace in Christ is that we are not by ourselves! A look into the mirror - God's mirror - yields the reflection of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Thereby, we rejoice in a life whereby His unselfishness becomes better known by us, and wondrously, better known within and through us for the glory of God and the blessing of others.
In his counsel to Philemon, Paul shined a bright light on the truth of how important it is that believers view ourselves in accordance with our Lord's living and vital presence within us. We close with the Apostle's command to see ourselves in God's mirror…
"I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints, that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus."
(Philemon 1:4-6)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
(II Corinthians 3:18)
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