2007-09-24 - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

2 Corinthians 4:16, "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."

I was reading a sermon, and came upon a story from the life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon that seemed interesting. He relates how he once went into a room covered with mirrors. When he looked, he says that he saw himself 15 times, which, for him, was 14 times more than he needed or wanted. But then he goes on to give his reader a little instruction, and while his words are more than 120 years old, they still carry a depth, and profoundness that is often lacking in what we see today on the popular Christian bookstore shelves.

He says respecting his vision of mirrors and the room of his heart, or inmost being,

"But oh, I would have my whole being to be such, that whenever Jesus comes into it, he may see himself everywhere - above, below, to the right, to the left, and on all sides! Oh, to have him shining even into the inmost closet of our nature, so as to have no part dark! Oh, to become new editions of the life of Christ! We would not only look into the mirror, but we would be ourselves mirrors, reflecting the beauties of the holy Lord Jesus."

Isn't that it? "Reflecting the beauties of the holy Lord Jesus." Is this not the very thing that the Christian strives to achieve? We seek to reflect the holiness of Christ in such a manner that we are new editions of the life of Christ. This does not mean we have some superhero spiritual nature. It is not an additional step of faith to strive to be Christlike, but rather it is the duty of everyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ and rest in Him. It is our desire to become so lost to ourselves that when others look upon us - above, below, to the right, or to the left, we get lost in the picture, and all they see is Jesus.

If you are like me, you can only admit that you are so far from this goal that it seems to be unattainable. Let us not play make-believe here. It is unattainable, but yet it still what we strive to attain. We seek Christlikness. We seek to obtain within our character, conduct, dreams, desires, even our whole lives, that which we know we will always be striving unto. Even in knowing that our reflection will never perfectly reflect Christ, we still seek to make that image within us clearer and purer. It is a lifetime goal, and we know that one day, we will be made complete in glory, when we shall see Him face-to-face.

Paul says to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 6:11, "Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide." What a wonderful thing to be able to say. To be able to say with conviction that we have been free and honest in our dealings, to such an extent that it is comparable to our hearts being opened wide. We can only have such transparency, without shame, when our hearts - to a large extent - reflect Christ. It is what we strive for in every area of our lives. We seek, as Spurgeon says, "to have him shining even into the innermost closet of our nature." May the Lord lead us to strive to such a glorious end.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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