James 3:23-24 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
We mirror the image of those closer to us. The image of God is the hidden undeveloped negative in the spirit of a man that must be put through the light of God’s Word to be developed. Until His image is fully developed in us, we will mirror the image of those who are in our inner circle and belief systems that have been inculcated in us. Religious, social and moral values are “learnt habits and behaviours”. Hence we mirror the image of our parents, caretakers, teachers and friends within our close circle. Children follow what we do more than what we say. Teenagers in their adolescence lean more towards their friends, role models and heroes mirroring the image of the influencers. Not everyone is planted in the right environment to be nurtured and groomed hence, bad influences develop wrong images. Wrong influence, adverse comments and peer pressure can limit the true potential of who we are and whose we are.
We will start reflecting the image of God only if we see ourselves through the “mirror of God’s Word”. It is the light of God’s Word that will develop Christlikeness in us. The closer we get to Jesus the more we will mirror His image through our lives. A bunch of uneducated men resigned their jobs, abandoned their business and left their family to follow Jesus for 3 ½ years and started reflecting the nature of Christ through their lives.
Three ways to develop the image God in us:
1. Learn: We will discover who we are and our full potential only when we sit at His feet and learn from the Lord. John 6:68 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. The Word of God is like a brasso that will polish all the dirt away from our heart and reflect the image of Jesus through us.
2. Unlearn: We have to unlearn the limitations, overlook the restrictions and break through the curb of constraint to reach our full potential. We have to consciously erase out the names that we were called and unlearn the limitations that we grew-up with. Moses had to unlearn the rejection of his own people before he became their pastor. David had to unlearn the rebuff from his family to become the greatest king of Israel. Unlearn and loosen the bondages of harsh comments, words and remarks that have marred the image of Christ in you.
3. Relearn: Learning is the processing of discovering our true self. It is a continuous process until we die and go to heaven. Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. Every day we relearn and rediscover the image of God in us as we spend time with Him.
We will mirror who we are closer to. If Jesus is our closest friend and father we will reflect His image, the image of God through our lives.
Proverbs 27:9 As in water face reflects face, So the heart of man reflects man.
Prayer: Heavenly Father help me to erase the limits that people have put on me and the restrains that I have placed over myself. Help me to develop your image in me. Amen
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