As you go to pick up the mirror that is on the dresser to move it to the other side of the room it has a sharp edge, as sharp as a razor’s edge, and as the glass slices a gash into your flesh, you pull back on your hand instinctively, leaving the mirror to fall and shatter violently. Pieces of reflective glass fly everywhere and your first thought is that you might have horribly bad luck for the next seven years, but you don’t really believe that “stupid-stitious” nonsense. Or do you? Droplets of blood fall on the broken pieces of glass and when you look down you can see a shattered image of yourself with drops of blood spattering on it. The world appears to stand still for a moment as a drop of blood stops in mid-air and you begin to see a crowd of people. You see what appears to be a man covered in blood carrying a heavy wooden cross and he turns to look at you. All time is in a state of suspended animation as you come back to yourself. That drop of blood suspended in time falls on the shattered image of yourself and you grasp your hand as blood continues to fall. You run to the bathroom to wash out the wound that is still bleeding quite profusely and then you look up to the mirror over the vanity and see that shattered image of yourself again and the shattered image of that man that was covered in blood. What does this mean? You get a brief wave of nausea as you think about your own life. All you have been able to see throughout your life is a shattered image of yourself.
1 Corinthians 13:12; For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
That shattered image of yourself represents the shattered pieces of your life. A life of guilt and shame over things that were done to you and over the things that you did to yourself. this is not much different than looking in a mirror with the lights out. You can’t see what you really look like although you may be able to make out some features as your eyes adjust to the darkness but then again you are only seeing yourself through the darkness. You prefer to see yourself this way because you are not really comfortable with yourself or with who you are. You may even consider yourself to be handsome or beautiful at times but when you look at your reflection all you can see is ugliness. This is no better than gazing at your reflection in broken pieces of glass. Your reflection looks broken and distorted and your life is also shattered like so many broken pieces of glass. You can’t see beyond your own imperfections. Your pain and your misery is your own present reality although the conditions that caused these feelings have long passed.
James 1:6-8; But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
You ask yourself questions that cause you to doubt who you are. Doubt can cause a great deal of instability. A little doubt can destroy mountains of faith. Doubt opens the door to temptations that will continually lead you down that twisted path you have been walking on for years. It is so easy to give in to the flesh when your value and self-worth is so low. You pray and pray and you think God is hearing you when you are not even praying in faith. That poor self image is rotting you to the core. Sure, you might have some people fooled, but you are only fooling yourself. God can see through all of that. You may even think of yourself as being deep or complex when you are really shallow and transparent. You can try to hide behind a Colgate smile and believe that all you have to do is occupy yourself with more activity and you may even look and sound more spiritual but then when you wind down for the day you are left empty and feeling miserable. So you figure all you have to do is put on some praise and worship music and read the bible and even fast and pray and go to church more. That joy is short-lived though because your vessel has a hole on the bottom of it. No matter how much you get filled it all leaks out. You have to fix that broken vessel. You have to remove that poor self-image.
Genesis 1:26-27; And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Why do you keep trying to repair the broken mirror? It is useless. You are wasting a lot of effort which is leaving you exhausted and drained. Gather up all of the broken pieces and throw them away. Sweep up the rest and put it all in the trash. Get a new mirror!
What is the image of God? What is his likeness? A lot of people interpret this to mean that since God is a Spirit that he created man as a spiritual being. This is so far from the truth that people can never really grasp the point of what God is saying here. Let me explain.
1 Corinthians 15:45-49; And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Adam was not a spiritual being. He was a carnal earthly (worldly) man just like any one of us. The world during Adam’s time was a much different place than what it is now. The conditions were perfect for a man to live close to 1,000 years. So what does the image and likeness of God mean?
Genesis 5:1-3; This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
If this is not clear to you by now then you are never going to get it. When God created Adam in his image after his likeness it means that Adam resembled God! God used himself as the mold to create an image of himself.
Fortunately for you I had given you the bad news first. The good news is that you don’t have to keep trying to fit a mold that was not made for you. You are not supposed to see a shattered image of yourself. That is not who you are. Stop trying to make out your features through the darkness. Turn on the light! Even with your imperfections you can approach God just the way you are without having to compensate or look for validation through things that are temporal. No matter how good you look there are two active forces that are constantly working against you. They are age and gravity. There is no way to get around them, so learn to be comfortable with yourself. I don’t have to try to fit anyone’s mold. All I have to do is put on the image of Christ. I am his hands and his feet and his mouth and his eyes and I can do what he did the same way that he did it. This is liberating!
I CAN BE ALL THAT I CAN BE IN CHRIST, WITH CHRIST AND THROUGH CHRIST!
Come on people, destroy those shattered images of yourselves and put on the image of Christ! This is what is going to make a difference in your life. If you keep trying to fit someone else’s mold you are going to fail miserably only to find yourself more bitter and angry. Why don’t you start making the change today? How about right now? What have you got to lose? Let’s do this!
1 John 3:2-3; Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Father in the name of Jesus, I’ve been living my life with false impressions of myself and fallen notions under silly assumptions. Dear God could I have been doing this all wrong without realizing it? I’ve done all the things I thought I needed to do yet I could never really figure out what was missing. Forgive me Lord for trying to fit someone Else’s mold. I could never be what others expected from me but when I failed to meet their expectations of me I took it out on myself and I realize now that i was never supposed to try to fit those molds that were not made for me. Lord I give myself over to you to allow you to mold me into your perfect image. You are the mold and you are the one that is shaping me and forming me. Thank you Lord for waking me from my slumber and giving me a new lease on life. In the name of Jesus, AMEN!
