Walking With Christ

We, humanity, are fallen. We are broken. It says in Romans 3:11, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”(ESV) What good, then, are we to the kingdom? I love analogies like Jesus loved parables. There are two analogies that I like to share when discussing our purpose and calling.


The mirror:
We are created in the image of God as found in Genesis 1:27. We are meant to look like God in every possible way. We cannot BE God, but we are made in His image. This, to me, makes us mirrors. I would argue that our entire purpose in life is to be a mirror that reflects the image or light of God. The purpose of a mirror is to reflect. Thanks to the original sin of Adam and Eve, the crafting material may be less than perfect even if the craftsmanship still is. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”(ESV) This means that when we are born we reflect a wonderful image of God. It is as close to perfect as we can get in this life. At the moment we are born, or in some cases even before while we are still in the womb, we begin to collect finger prints, smudges, dust, or even cracks. Some of us crack, while others break into pieces. We can pull ourselves together, but we often are missing pieces afterwards. The layers of smudges, oil, fingerprints, and dirt build up in layers that slowly block the light. The cracks can even cause the light to fracture into the incomplete parts of light that we see as colors. This adds shades to the light we reflect that can color the world around us in false light.

Normally, when something is broken, we just throw it away. That’s just the society we live in today. If we get the warranty and the product is faulty then we can take it back to the store to get a replacement. Fortunately for us, we have an even better warranty. No matter how dirty or broken we find ourselves, we also know that we have a manufacturer warranty that covers it all. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “(8)For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9)not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”(ESV) We can go back to the one who made us as many times as we need to get restored to pure factory condition. Fingerprints? Gone. Smudges? Gone. Cracks? Gone! Missing pieces? Restored!

The most important part about being a mirror is to remember that His light is meant to reflect off of us. He places us where He wants us so that His light reflects where He wants it to. It may not always reflect back to Him. It may reflect into the world. It could be that the light we reflect will be the only light that some people see. He shines His light on us knowing that we will reflect that light and cause it to shine into the darkness where someone is desperately waiting for a ray of hope.


The thread:
Imagine your life as a thread. When we are born, the thread is nearly pure white because it has been bathed in the pure light of Jesus as He knit us together in the womb. Thanks again to the original sin of Adam and Eve the thread is never pure white.

The moment we are born we begin to take on the colors of any thread we come in contact with. Galatians 5:22-23 and Romans 1:29-31. Even for the briefest amount of time. That small contact will alter the color of our thread. The darker or more vibrant that the color of the thread we come in contact with and the longer or more often that we come in contact with that color the more that thread changes us. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’”(ESV) Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”(ESV)

As God weaves our threads together, He perfectly blends the colors together to create His master tapestry. We cannot know what that final image is going to look like until the masterpiece is complete. All we know for sure is that our individual thread is carefully woven throughout the parts of that work.

When we come in contact with any other person, even through email, text, television, or even magazines, we take on a bit of their color. If the communication is a two-way street like with these emails then the color being shared goes both ways.

Look at the image below. We may feel lost on our journey from the beginning of our thread to the end, but we need to remember that He weaves the thread. It won’t be until we can take a step back and look at His final work that we will begin to see how our thread was so important.