Reflections of Reality

A thrill runs through you when, amidst the fog of false illusion, you catch a glimpse of the reflection, clearly outlined in colour against a background of gray. For only a moment it remains visible before the image fades, but this unimaginable reality remains etched upon your soul as if you have suddenly been awoken from a lifetime of death. That single beam of light, caught for a moment, is enough to convey purpose, eternity, reality - where they never before existed.

The star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (Matt 2:9-10)

How could pain or mourning ever shake us again? We have partaken of the water our souls were born thirsting for, and one day we will see the Light our eyes hunger for, for this Light has been born in us. Now that our eyes have once beheld it, we begin to see the Light reflecting on the surface of the lake at sunset. We see it falling dappled on the ground through leafy canopies. It is reflected in the pain-filled eyes of the little boy who speaks of love, of Jesus, while he lies helplessly trapped within a web of IV tubes and monitors. It is in the sublime simplicity of a child's heartfelt prayer. We receive a glimpse of the Light that came, but this is not satisfaction - it is longing, a joyful longing perfected by unassailable hope.

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life. (John 8:12)

How dreadful to look once and soon forget, but how marvelous to see and remember - to savor and anticipate the culmination of what is promised us forever. And this brings humility, because we realize that we do not see as He sees. we do not see all things, but God has promised to one day reveal all things to us, for He has given His son - the manifestation of his glory.

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:4-5) 

And yet we have been chosen to see Him who is the radiance of His glory, all because He came to us.  How can we understand this, when we have not yet seen Him in the flesh? How can we fathom it? How can we know it to be true?

We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. (1 Cor 2:12)

The unseen has been revealed, because the Spirit of Christ, God himself, lives in us!

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

This Christmas, in each heart who has been reborn, may every reflection of His glory cause us to long for the day in which we see Him. Jesus, who came to this world as Light wrapped in human flesh, is our salvation and our eternal ambition. No mirror reflects an image unless the light is present. May His Light ever shine within us. Look for Him, and rejoice in Him!

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Cor 13:12)

Purpose

I've been really wanting to evaluate why I do what I do. Lately, I've been thinking on whether my purpose and meaning are found in the right things. I want each area of my life to honour my King - thought and action, word and deed. I know that there will continually be areas in which the Lord molds and convicts. It certainly brings humility to realize that at no one time in this life will I have it all together or achieve perfection. Truly, I must be realizing that more and more everyday - but the amazing part is that God accepts me, a sinner, because of Jesus' spilled blood.

I've just been asking myself why I blog. Certainly, the answer is complicated. I know there aren't a lot of people reading this, but I want those who do so to be pointed to Christ above anything else. There are a lot of great blogs out there, and it's really easy to compare myself and feel pretty pathetic, or jealous, or just plain boring... :P How horrible that trap can be! Personally, I want my little space on the net to be a place where I can share what I'm thinking about, what God is teaching me, a bit of my everyday life, and hopefully edify those who stop by. Never do I want to be a slave to anything of this world, least of all my blog.

Still, I love to write. While there are things that can't be put into words and some which simply don't need to be, within that jumble of hodge-podge thoughts and emotions, we have a desire for expression. It's difficult to formulate sometimes, but I know how cleansing it can be to write out thoughts and ideas, instead of having them bounce around unnamed in the vapours of cognizance. Even here, however, there is tension between word and intent, thought and action. Sure, expression is all well and good, but there are still the questions of what and why. And the answer should never be "because that's what I think, and that's the way I like it," but seeking what God thinks, and expressing it in a way that glorifies Him. Oh, I certainly have not achieved that, but I want to make it my goal.

Yes, I do believe that is the summary of what I want my life to be - seeking to know my God more, and to glorify Him in all things. And in writing all this out (you should get a prize if you read this far :P) I think it's more solidified in my mind.

And again I am reminded of these wonderful verses in Colossians 1:9b-10:

"We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

That is the prayer I have for my own life, and for all who have been raised to life in Christ. May we walk in a manner worthy of Him, by His grace.

You Aren't Good Unless You're Perfect

We cannot be perfect at anything. What a frustrating reality! But oh so true. We try- we hold up some kind of standard, and try to live up to it- but we can't. We can't even do the same imperfect thing the same way twice. The term “better” refers to a progression towards an ultimate good. To say that we can become better, is to admit that there is a good towards which we are aiming. How is it that we even have a notion of this if there is not something greater than the imperfection we see in ourselves and the created universe? Plato indeed realized something great in his theory of the forms. There must be something more real than we can see. Why else do we desire what we cannot see, and long for something barely imagined? True, some people try to live in a way that defies all laws of order or a higher good. Abstract art is one visual and tangible manifestation of this sensibility. In a way it is a reaction against the unpredictability and imperfection of life- the inability for humanity to achieve what we innately desire: peace and perfection. “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” (Hebrews 10:1 - emphasis added) Paul was surely familiar with the ideas of Socrates and Plato, and he identified the true nature of the shadow, and the identity of the Reality, who is Christ Jesus. In light of the exclusive, elusive nature of perfection, people, especially in our present age, have thought to rebel against it. We pretend we don't want to be perfect; we even pretend to celebrate being “real”, but in reality, we all want to be better than we are. Our problem is that we try to become better people on our own terms and in our own strength. A good analogy of the human condition is that of a hamster on a rodent wheel. We have grand, vague visions of the goal we are running towards, but we end up exhausted and futile. As Jesus said in Mark 10:18, “No one is good- except God alone”. We have no hope of becoming better in any true or lasting way.

God's Word illuminates this problem. By looking at Genesis, we see that Adam's original sin brought sin and death into the lives of all his descendants. This fall from perfection, from being “good” as God originally declared his creation, is inherent in each of us. Our birthright is death. There is a great rift between us and God, but all our striving, all our running, all our effort to build a bridge using the resources of a fallen nature, leads to nothing but destruction in the deadly chasm. We can see the law that we must follow- but we are incapable of meeting its demands because we are enslaved to the law of sin and death. We are desperately in need of salvation! God is the only one who could offer that salvation, and in his mercy, at just the right time, he sent his son to redeem the lost and to offer a way to God- the Author of the perfection that we marred. “The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:16-17) By His gift, and the sacrifice of His perfect life, our lives are redeemed! The law that we saw dimly and tried to attain, can become our heart as the life of Christ is transfused into us. Christ, “by one sacrifice [...] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14)

Just trying to conform ourselves to what culture dictates as desirable, or to the moral requirements of a religion, will not turn us into better people. This dilemma is illustrated eloquently by Paul in Romans 7:18-19: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” The sacrifice of Christ is all-sufficient. He is our rest, and our Sabbath. The cross he bore must also become ours so that we are resurrected into a new life and purpose. We are no longer captive to futility. And yet, we are still in this world, and we are yet imperfect. Paul in Romans 12:2 exhorts believers with the following words: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our minds can be renewed in Christ and his Word. His life transforms us to truly desire to be sanctified, to become purer reflections of Christ. Through His divine perfection, we are empowered to live a holy life- not through our own effort, but by His grace alone. This is how we become better people- not by good deeds, but by becoming a more transparent vessel of Immanuel. “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9) Through him, we can grow toward the image of what is better. All our efforts to become better on our own strength will only make our failures seem worse. Diminution of self and surrender to Christ is the only way to become a better person.