This morning one of the first things you probably did was look in a mirror. In the mirror, you saw a reflection of yourselves and made adjustments to your appearance. The same care we take to have the right physical appearance is the same diligence we should have to reflect God’s image – reflecting God’s glory in our lives.
We can only reflect God’s glory as we keep focused on Christ, and live by His pattern. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, all humans have fallen short of God’s glory, and have been living by the patterns of our sinful nature. However, when a person receives Christ, they receive a new nature, and God creates a new person. This new nature is created after the image of Christ.
Colossians 3:10 – And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
Thus, for Christians to reflect God’s glory in their lives they must live according to the new nature in Christ(the new person they are in Christ), and not the old sinful nature.
To live by the new nature, we must first keep our eyes on Christ. Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. When we received the new nature we became risen with Christ; therefore, we must forsake the sinful habits of this world, and seek the heavenly things of God. In putting off the old sinful nature, Colossians 3:8-9 tells us to get rid of certain things: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, and lying to each other. To put on the new nature Colossians 3:12 tells us to add: bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.
All the attributes of the new nature are qualities of Christ’s character. Imagine Christians who are free of sinful anger, bad communication, and lies; and those who are full of mercy, kindness, and humbleness toward each other. Colossians 3:15-19 even continues on by saying:…forgiving one another when there is a quarrel, and to put on the bond of perfectness, which is love; let the peace of God reign in your hearts, and let the word of God dwell in you richly. The attributes of the new nature describe the character of Christ, and when we live by them, we will reflect God’s glory in every avenue of our life. At home, on our jobs, in the traffic jam, wherever; through the mercy, love, and peace they display, those who live according to the new nature in Christ will reflect God’s glory for others to see. People will look and think – I see Christ in him or her.
The Christian who desires the glory of Christ to abide in his or her life must continually grow in Christ, putting on the attributes of the new nature, which is created in Christ’s image, and he or she will be living reflections of God’s glory.
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