I took this picture a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon walk. I have been continuously drawn back to it ever since, as if it contained some secret knowledge that I needed to find. God the Father, in His boundless love for us, uses so many teaching tools in our lives. They are everywhere if we would open our spiritual eyes to see them. He hasn’t left us adrift and floundering, but instead teaches us one-on-one in a classroom of His choosing. He longs to impart wisdom and truth to us.

The water in that picture reflected what it saw. The reflection was clear because the water was calm.

Ah, the steady, quiet, and profound wisdom and truths of the Kingdom of God are indeed all around us!

Genesis 1:27NIV, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We were intentionally created to bear the image of God. We were not made to be God or create the image of Him for and of ourselves, but to reflect His glory, much as the surface of that water reflects the clouds in that sky.

It would be so much easier if we were simply a pool of water. But alas, we are not an inanimate object. We must choose what image we bear and we only do that by where we focus our gaze. In other words, you and I, through our sheer wills, cannot make others see the image of God in us. Oh, we sure do try to do it ourselves by keeping our religious checklists at the forefront of our activities, but then we only end up reflecting ourselves. It is only when we surrender our attention, our devotion, our fears, our needs, our gaze, our everything to Him that the image of Divine Love starts to appear.

If I spend my time and energy looking at others and comparing myself to them, I will reflect what I gaze upon. If I spend my time and energy looking at the world’s standard for morals, behavior, success, acceptance, beauty, and value, I will reflect what I gaze upon. If I spend my time and energy aligning myself with a “side” that fears and hates the opposing “side”, I will reflect what I gaze upon. If I spend my time and energy with toxic or unhealthy people, I will reflect what I gaze upon.

If I spend my time and energy looking and listening to Jesus, my King, I will reflect what I gaze upon. 2 Corinthians 3:18NIV, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The transformation comes with the gaze. We cannot transform ourselves. The water is a reflection only. It cannot choose what it reflects. It cannot choose where it looks. We have the great opportunity and responsibility to choose where we rest our gaze and then to allow His presence to transform our image. My favorite words from that verse are “with ever-increasing glory”. Wow!

I pray your heart burns as mine does to not be seen but to let Him be seen with ever-increasing glory. It isn’t something you do, it is something you allow.

In these days, perhaps more than ever before, the world needs to see the image of Love, Peace, Hope, Kindness, and Goodness. We are all reflecting something. What image shall we bear this day?