The Jesus Mirror
He had a wonderful way of reflecting back to people who they were and what they were really doing. To the meek he was an attractive person of great humility. He was a “sinner” to the sin obsessed Pharisees. He told the woman at the well all about her life — as if she had forgotten. Sometimes he mirrored in contrast. He was the positive to the negative — like when he forgave those that executed him.
People that hated despised him. Those open to love loved him. He was the walking ink blot of the first century. People projected their sins onto him. In him they saw their best and their worst, and then they had to either accept or reject what they saw. Their judgments were self-judgments. When you look in God’s face and hate what you see, you really hate yourself, for you are made in the image of God.
On any given day, I can take a look at my life — how I might be like or unlike Jesus. Each time I do I have to smile. Jesus was the universal character. He was simple yet complex. He was humble but able to be the absolute center of any situation. His friends and enemies often reversed their views of him — depending on what they saw of themselves in him (Judas comes to mind). Jesus was anything but neutral, but he came across as the mirror of souls. What people see in him is who they are. For some, he is a reason to hate. For others, he is God’s love incarnate.
In the end, no one is fooled — especially God. We broadcast who we are to the whole planet in everything we do. If it is negative, we leave a spiritual vacuum behind. If we are positive, we leave footsteps filled with sprouting flowers of life and hope.
No matter what you find in him, just own it. Be real. Accept what is like him. Repent from what is not. Your life’s project is you.
