Look in the Mirror

In the days of Moses, the glory of the Lord was restricted to a geographical location: first on Mt. Sinai, then in the tabernacle holy place. The children of Israel had a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to signify that God was with them. Often, they carried the Ark of the Covenant before them into battle as a symbol of God’s victorious presence in the fight. On the negative side, God also made His presence known in judgment when they failed to follow His commands: fatal fire coming from heaven; giant sinkholes swallowing thousands; poisonous snakes invading the camp; plagues of deadly diseases causing havoc. God made Himself know to the five senses in those days.

The writer of Hebrews opens the letter with the acknowledgement that God previously revealed Himself at various times in various ways. In contrast, the main point of the letter demonstrates that Christ Jesus is now the complete revelation for all who would believe. “In these last days he has spoken to us by a Son… who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence.” (Heb. 1:2-3) The word “radiance” in this translation could well be rendered “reflection.” Christ reflects the glory, the goodness of God for all to see. The word “representation” is taken from a word that means a stamp or die that produces and exact likeness of a thing. The ESV renders this phrase as, “The exact imprint of his nature.” I prefer “nature” to “essence,” although the literal translation is substance or foundation.

What I am getting at here is that looking carefully at Jesus gives us a true picture of who God is essentially. If the translators had transliterated “representation” it would sound like the English word character (χαρακτήρ). We see God’s character when we see Jesus properly. By “properly” I mean that we don’t get to invent a picture of who Jesus is, hence, who God is. We have to look for the Jesus of the Gospels as interpreted by the Holy Spirit inspired New Testament authors. The picture we get is that of a loving, self-sacrificing judge and king. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, when God, “Had made purification for sins through him [Jesus], he [Jesus] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Heb. 1:3)

Some people like the thought of a loving Jesus; they forget that while He walked in Palestine, He had many seriously judgmental things to say to the Jewish leaders (who would eventually kill Him). The Jesus is love people also have to ignore the many New Testament references to Jesus’ role as judge. Jesus told John that He was coming on the clouds in judgment of Jerusalem, specifically to “Every one who pierced him.” Him. He did that in 70 AD, and He will complete the judgment of all humanity when He returns at the end of the age. If we want the “exact imprint of [God’s] nature,” we have to be honest with Scripture.

Paul explained the problem with those who don’t recognize Jesus’ representation of God: “But if indeed our gospel is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they would not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:3-4) “Light” is used consistently in the Scripture as a metaphor for knowledge. Unbelievers simply can’t see the light. It is often proven that what the world thinks is obviously true is painfully wrong. I love what Ronald Reagan said of the opposition party in 1964: “The problem with the Democrats is they know so much that just isn’t true.” The Preacher said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Prov. 1:7) When people don’t fear (aka respect) God, they fall into error.

We should also remember that Scripture encourages us to conform to the “exact imprint of [God’s] nature.” To the Corinthians, Paul suggested believers, “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” James used a similar metaphor when he chided people who read God’s Word but don’t apply it to their lives. “If anyone is a hearer of the message and not a doer, this one is like someone staring at _⌊his own face_⌋ in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and immediately forgets what sort of person he was.” If Jesus is the Mirror, I will have to admit that I fall far short of conforming to the exact imprint of God’s character.

This same principle applies to how we view the world around us. If we are being conformed to God’s character, we must try to see things as God would see them. When the explanation for events escapes us, we should look up not out. One of my favorite preachers used to say when we look at the problems, they get bigger; when we look at God, they disappear. The world situation that resulted from the misguided pandemic policies of recent years did not surprise God or leave Him behind. (See “Finding God in COVID 19”) This is true of the current deplorable situation in Ukraine. Jesus promised there would be wars and rumors of wars until the very end of the age. When He told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world, He didn’t mean that this world was not of concern to Him. He loves the world so much that He gave His life for it.

And here we stand. Some believers are literally giving their lives for the sake of Jesus. Most of us are only giving more money at the gas pump and maybe dodging critics who disagree with our perception of who God is and what He does. In Paul’s metaphor, Jesus is the Mirror (capital M). WWJD is just a wrist band for some or a trite question for others, but it should be the first thing we ask. Is Jesus Lord of the whole earth, or just the parts of it we are comfortable with? Are we being transformed by the renewing of our minds, or are we conforming to the world?

Related posts: Where’s My Cloud?; Defending Resurrection Faith; Friendship With the World