Reflections

I enjoy trying to get the perfect reflection picture. You know the one, the calm pond/lake, sunrise or sunset reflecting off of it, trees reflected in the water so that you don't know which one is the original and which one is the reflection. That, for me, is what I like to try for when I take all those photos of ponds and lakes and rivers. To date, I am sure that I have had a few good ones, but the perfect one is still out there, waiting for me to record on film (all right, record digitally as I don't use film any longer).

Reflections - a mirror image of that which is the original. I thought about how we are to be the reflection of God in this world. We read, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV) And again in Colossians we are told, "...and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." (Colossians 3:10 ESV) Contrary to what we think, we are not the original image. We are the reflection

We are the reflection of God. He made man in His own image. In the Garden, man was the perfect reflection of God. Then sin entered into the world and destroyed that image. Like a storm that destroys the stillness of the lake or pond, making the reflection distorted or perhaps even impossible to see, so sin has destroyed that reflection of the image of God in mankind. We look around us and wonder if this is really that reflection of God. We see pain and suffering, horror and lies all around us. The musical group Phish sings, "There must be something more than this." (From the 2016 release Big Boat.) We cry out. We wonder. We look for that perfect reflection. And like me and my photography, it just can't be found.

Here on earth, it won't be found. We will see glimpses of what might be, we will see a reflection poorly as through a cloudy mirror or window. We look forward to that day when Christ will come and then we will see clearly, the perfect reflection will once again be shown as all those in Christ will be made perfect. We will then be the perfect reflection of the Son of God.

So what do we do until then? As Paul writes to the Colossians, we are to be made into the new self through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace, through Word and Sacrament (Baptism and Lord's Supper). Each day, we are being remade into the reflection of Christ our Lord. Yes, we will struggle with our sinful nature, often reflecting the sinful world around us.  We do confess our sins, receive absolution and are once again made new in Christ. It is a continual, daily thing that will go on until the day our Lord returns.

When you get frustrated that you can't see Christ in the world around you, stop looking there. Look into your life as see if you are reflecting Christ in your daily walk. You cannot expect a fallen world to reflect Christ. It never will. But you can and should reflect Him. If each one of us that are Christian would reflect Christ in our little section of the world, there would be a greater reflection taking place. The picture would become a little clearer. That, my friends, is what we are called to be - a reflection of Christ in the world.

I will continue to try to get the perfect picture. And through the Spirit, I will work to become the reflection of Christ each day.