God’s Mirror

2 Cor 3:15-18

In 1941 GR Tweed was a sailor living on the island of Guam. When the Japanese invaded and took over the island, he slipped into the jungle to live rather than be a POW. It was hard. He never had much to each, was always worried about the Japanese soldiers finding him and wondering if his own country would ever rescue him. Then one day, he looked out at the ocean and saw an AMERICAN warship. Quickly he scramble to a cliff area and took out a small mirror he had and flashed an SOS signal to the ship. A sailor saw the sun glinting off the mirror and reported it to his superior. A rescue team was sent out and Mr. Tweed was finally rescued. What if that mirror had a mind of it’s own and did what it wanted to do instead of what Mr. Tweed wanted it to do? What if it didn’t want to reflect Mr. Tweed’s message, it wanted to reflect its own message? Crazy right? A mirror’s job is to reflect.

Have you ever thought about the fact that we are God’s mirrors? Yet how many of us have our own agenda and want to do what we want instead of reflecting what God wants? This morning I want to challenge us to see what it means to be God’s mirrors.

PRAYER

I. Being God’s Mirror

A. Job description

1. In any organization, job descriptions are important. They let the employee and employer have a mutual understanding of what is expected for that person and job.

2. Everyone is happier when there is a job description that defines what they are supposed to be doing.

3. God has given Christians a simple job description

4. READ Col 3:17

5. Give God the Glory, reflect God’s glory

6. It seems like a simple thing to say our job description is to reflect God’s will.

7. But, somehow, that gets turned all over the place.

8. We have become very self-absorbed in our role as Christian.

9. Time after time I hear the phrase, “well, I want, or I like,” and I have to stop and think, when did it ever become about me?

10. It would be like that mirror in the story at the beginning only reflecting what it wanted to reflect.

11. Our job is simply to do the will of God.

12. The interesting part of this scripture is the word used for reflect in verse 18. If you read different translations, they use different interpretations of this word. Listen to verse 18 from the New American Version.

13. ¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.(NASB95)

14. So, which is it? Reflecting or beholding?

15. The Greek word could mean either of these interpretations and really both words are true.

16. We need to behold the glory of God

17. Last week, I found myself staring at the mirror and contemplating my face. It wasn’t just a momentary glance, but that hard look you give yourself as you sum up who you are. Or how old you are starting to look. I studied my face, wrinkles around my eyes, the gray in my mustache, the smile, and the person behind the face. As I looked into that mirror, I beheld myself.

18. If you back up in chapter 3 of 2 Cor. Verses 7 and following tell us how Moses face shone with the radiance of the glory of God he beheld.

19. As Max Lucado wrote; Beholding led to becoming. Becoming led to reflecting.

20. When we behold the glory of God, it’s got to change us. When we experience that Glory, it affects us in a way that causes us to reflect what we experience.

21. It’s not an occasional glance at God, but a serious pondering of him.

22. Beholding God is looking intently at him, studying Him, seeing him for who he really is.

23. We need to be like Moses, that after beholding the glory of God, we are like mirrors and reflect that glory to those around us.

B. Whatever

1. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 10:31 - ³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.(NIV)

2. Did you catch that? Whatever.

3. It wasn’t “some” or “most,” but whatever you do. Do it all for the glory of God.

4. When you come to worship, you need to reflect the glory of God. People need to see God in how you worship him.

5. Every aspect of your life needs to reflect the glory of God to the people around you.

6. This week, as we digested the fact that Mom has cancer, my uncle sat down with Mom and Dad and said, “the church is going to be watching how you handle this.” He is right.

a) Who ministers to the Minister?

b) It’s easy to say “glorify God even when you’re sick,” when it’s someone else.

c) What do you do when it is your family? When it is you?

d) I don’t know what will happen with mom’s cancer. I do know that whatever happens, she wins. If she dies, she’ll be with her God, if she lives, she’ll be with her family a little longer.

e) We’re praying selfishly for the miracle, but whatever happens we want God to be glorified.

C. Invitation

1. Up until Tuesday, life was going as usual. Mom and Dad were coming up next week and Dad and I were going hunting. Plans were made for this and that. Vacations were being planned. Going to Tulsa in the spring. Everything was going smoothly.

2. Then in one phrase, all future plans stopped.

3. In one moment, the world was turned upside down.

4. Yet, in that same moment, we realized that no matter what, Mom wins a victory.

5. Could you say the same?

6. Do you think you still have tomorrow?

7. You might… or you might not.

8. But you do have right now. What will you do with it?