TUESDAY
imago Dei: distortions | James 3.5-12
Reflect
It only takes a spark, remember,
to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth
can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw
mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with
it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
This is scary: You can tame a
tiger, but you can't tame a tongue-it's never been done. The tongue runs wild,
a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same
tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and
blessings out of the same mouth!
My friends, this can't go on.
A spring doesn't gush fresh water
one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do
they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into
a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool wate
r, are you? James 3.5-12
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r, are you? James 3.5-12
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Receive
Paul says, "We all, with
unveiled faces, behold the glory of the Lord as in mirror" - and
consequently reflect that image - and ultimately are transformed into that
which we reflect (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). The "unveiled" part
of this scares us, of course. We're much more comfortable being like Moses and
putting on a veil to cover our face lest others "see the glory
fading." Who wants to see the face of God with a scowl or a snarl? A face
contorted with resentment, reddened with shame, riddled with guilt? Yes, it can
be quite a distorted reflection that we offer others of the God we see and
seek. Which means it's probably a good thing to remember that "his power
is made known in our weaknesses." None of us are perfect "icons"
of God, are we? Most of us can readily see ourselves in James' description of
that runaway tongue that can't be tamed. Image bearers of God slamming other
image bearers. Yes, we do know this. Ancient mirrors were typically, at best,
polished metal that at least gave the one gazing into it a general outline and
idea of the face peering back at him. Therein lies the core challenge of this
brief series: how can we polish the rough exterior of our life so that it
reflects an undistorted view of God's face? As Jesus said, the key is cleaning
the inside so that the outside also may be pure. This will be our focus these
next few weeks - the process of cleaning the inside so that as people see our
face they see the face of God reflected back to them. This cleaning process
begins when we are impacted by the radical love of God that drives us into
life-changing circles of people passionately pursuing the truth of God. When
these three qualities come together, the distortions fade, and we become increasingly
clear reflections of Hope in a world where hope is in desperately short supply.
Relate
Where do you sense the mirror of
your life could use some polishing? What is the inner soul work you hear God
calling you to? What are your first steps?
Respond
God, let your face be reflected
in mine, your heart in my heart, your voice in my voice, your touch in every
touch of my hand, every movement of my life - whether feeble and faltering or
fearless and faithful. Through Christ.
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RULES OF THE ROAD:
1)The Names and Titles of God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior will be respected at all times.
2) Discussion is encouraged, however, respect for other people and their opinions is the rule---play nice.
3) No profanity, allusions, innuendos or just plain nastiness will be tolerated. Decency WILL prevail.
This is MY house and YOU are a guest here and differences of opinion will be tolerated as long as you conduct yourself accordingly. If "the exercise of civility is beyond your ability" or you were never taught by your parents, feel free to take your toys and go home and vent your pent-up anger elsewhere.