In our daily affairs, we as Christians should reflect a Christ-like image. The way we live should always project to others that we have dedicated our lives to Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 5:14-16 that we are the light of the world and when we let our light shine in front of others, we glorify God.
Sometimes when I think of a reflection, the image of a house of mirrors at the carnival comes to mind. Im sure you know the one. Mirrors are lined along the walls, and you go by each one studying how each misshapes your image. The thought of the house of mirrors makes me think of how the reflection of Christ in us could also be misshaped when other see it.
Let us take a moment to picture our reflection as in one of those mirrors. Would we be that mirror that gives the reflection of being short and squatted? If so, we reflect the image that we are holding back, not trying to present ourselves in the complete likeness of Christ. If our reflection looks like this, we probably are not giving our all in being like Christ and following His word. We are not putting forth much effort in growing in grace and the knowledge of our Savior as we are taught to do in 2 Peter 3:18 .
Or maybe our reflection is like that of the wavy mirror, whose image goes in two separate directions. We would have people of the world see us in one way while our fellow Christians see us in a different way. And, likewise, we would not have one see us as we are with the other. We would portray two false images instead of the one true image of Christ. This image would be like the reflection of Peter while he denied Christ in Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75. Peter wanted to know Christ and follow him, but he was afraid to show his loyalty in front of the people of the world who were not followers.
Another image would be that of one seen through a broken mirror. In this reflection, the full image can be seen but it is divided by cracks. If our image is cracked, we appear to be Christ-like but we actually have many weaknesses. These weaknesses will eventually cause us to fall apart and crumble. In Acts 4:34-35; 5:1-10, Ananias and Sapphira showed this image. They were so willing to sell their property but after receiving the money, they coveted, lied, and let their weak image break.
Hopefully, we are the only true image projected in this house of mirrors. Do we have that smooth, clean, and intact image of a Christian? In our everyday life as a Christian, do we reflect clearly that we have determined to be Christ-like in every way? We each need to examine ourselves and make sure the image we are projecting to others on a daily basis is one like Christ. When we become baptized, we have committed ourselves to Christ as his follower. So how does our reflection look? If it is smudged or cloudy, we may need to use a little Windex.
---Verlin Cox