Reflecting His Image

Reflecting His Image

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

There’s a song by Phillips, Craig & Dean called “I Want to Be like You” about a father expressing his desire to be who he knew he should be, not only for his Lord but also for his children. You probably remember it because you found yourself singing along the way I did: “Lord, I want to be just like you, because he wants to be just like me.”

While we are striving to be good role models for our children and for the others around us who need good examples, we should always look to our heavenly Father, the best role model we could have. As the apostle Paul says, the result of our desire to be more like our heavenly Father is that He will make us more like Him.

When we become more like Him, that image gives our children and others around us an image of who their heavenly Father is and wants to be to them, too. Sadly, too many of us grew up with parents who did not reflect what our heavenly Father is truly like—but their image affects how we view God. If we grew up with absentee parents, we might have struggled—or still struggle—with the heavenly Father’s seeming absence from our lives. Or parents who were neglectful, harsh, and critical or made us feel guilty about most everything might make us think our heavenly Father is judging us the same way.

We need to remember that who we are reflects to our children and others not only our image as a parent but also potentially the image they have of their heavenly Father.

Uncommon Key > You are probably your child’s first glimpse of the qualities of God. Make that glimpse a good one.