“But 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 by the Spirit of the Lord” (2
Corinthians 3:18)
Recently, we were privileged to have our car repaired. I
say “privileged” because God has led us to WONDERFUL mechanics. There may be others
out there, but these men are the best. For years, we have been
traveling to another city for maintenance and repair because of them.
This time I was in for a routine oil change, and Michael’s brother, David, said,
“You need front brakes,” and I did not hesitate,
for when David or Michael says something is needed, it really is. We have
learned to have faith in these men.
David and Michael are brothers from the country of
Jordan and they are Christians who LIVE their faith in the Lord. We remember
looking across the Dead Sea some years ago and wondering about Jordan on the
other side. David and Michael have helped us to understand how it is to be
there. A few years ago, I wrote a sermon called “The Mechanic,”
which centered on David and his wife, Martha, and their struggle in relation to
their son, Christopher, who is autistic. This time it was Michael who shared
with me.
It seems like such a short time ago that Michael
returned to Jordan in order to marry, and they now amazingly have three young
children. Michael said that one of the children, Matthew, is just like him when
he was a child. “Matthew excels at everything”
like he did. He says, “There is literally only an
inch on each side of his handlebars when he rides his bicycle in to the garage,
and yet he does it intensely and at full speed.” Michael continued, “The
neighbors wonder how he always does it that way and never hits the cars.”
I haven’t met Matthew, but I’m sure he always has a smile. Just like Michael.
When Michael was younger, he was an avid soccer
(football) player, who was always better than the other players. He was a car
and motorcycle racer who won most of the time. He had a temper and if someone
hit him, he made sure the other boy was hit in return. One time, another, bigger
boy hit Michael in the face and ran away. It was months before Michael saw that
boy again, but he “cornered” him and hit him many
times for the once he had been hit before. He did not stop, “even
when the other boy was bloody.” He could run faster, play better soccer
and hit harder, just like his son, Matthew.
Now Michael has a wife and three children, and he
recognizes that he has an obligation to them. When he raced, he said, “I
risked my life many times,” understanding that if he raced any other way,
he would not have won. As a husband and father, he must now live for his family,
and Michael realizes that God expects him to change for them.
He sees that he must put aside both his temper and his
drive to excel in sports because God has entrusted the lives of others to his
care. He knows it is God who has brought this realization to him. And it is God
who is bringing understanding to us all.
It’s interesting that his son, Matthew, is so much like
him. Matthew has the same skills that Michael had, and his young father, who has
a bad hip and knee from years of wild sports involvement, realizes that he has
decisions to make about what is best for his son.
It’s fascinating that God so often gives us children who
are like mirrors that show us ourselves. Sometimes, however, our children don’t
seem to be like us at all. Michael said of his own father in Jordan, that the
man “never would admit he was wrong,” and Michael
sees that instead of always being “right,” he must
do what is best for his wife, his son, and all those he loves.
When I was little and was called “Ronnie”
by my parents, I decided what I would be when I grew up: I would NOT be like my
father. How many of us are like that? We may have no plan about what we should
be, but we often know exactly what we do NOT want to be. That kind of plan
leaves a vacuum inside us, leading to aimless lives. The interesting thing is
that I find myself doing and saying things like my father. My actions are often
like his. I must NEVER go to an “all you can eat”
restaurant because I will eat everything in sight, just like my
father. It's good though that he loved to laugh, for I find that I do, too.
Both Michael (the sportsman, the mechanic, the hard
worker, husband and daddy) and I have another Father. The Lord God, maker of
heaven and of earth, is Michael’s Father, and He is mine also. Incredible! And
He is your Father, too, when you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture
teaches us that, “as many as received Him (Jesus
Christ), to them He gave the right to become children of
God, even to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God!” (John
1:12-13). Trust in Him and a process begins in which you will become like Him –
forever.
When we give ourselves to the Lord, He gives Himself to
us; to ordinary people like you and me. And His Holy Spirit is an awesome bonus.
The Spirit is the One who is the active agent in transforming you from the image
of your earthly situation into the image of God. As in today’s Scripture, “we…
are being transformed into the same image,” which
is “the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Those of us who are part of humanity tend to become what
we never wanted to be. But when we trust in Christ, something (Someone)
intervenes into that process, taking us in a whole new direction.
The “image” of the “glory of
the Lord” is placed within us. When I was in high school, many years ago,
we all worried about the disease called “polio.”
Our parents were afraid for us and we were afraid, too. And then, wonder of
wonders, we weren’t afraid of polio anymore because at school one day, they
passed out little sugar cubes containing a vaccine that prevented us from
getting it. We received it and everything was changed!
To have Christ is like that and much more. In receiving
Him, we are given the Holy Spirit of God, who starts the work of cleansing us
from sins inside and outside that are like cancers of the soul. That’s the
“negative” side – the harmful is taken away. The positive effect is that
qualities like faith, love, gentleness, peace and the joy of God begin to grow
within us. It’s working for Michael, it’s happening in me, and it is true for
all who simply trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the good that comes
from God. Let’s pray:
Father, I place my faith in the Lord Jesus. Heal me
of my sins and transform me into the “image” of His
glory that is for all who trust in Him. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
