Cracked Reflections

Reflections are enlightening.  We see them every day in the bathroom mirror, in the lakes or ponds we drive by, in the store windows we stroll by, on any smooth shiny reflective surface we glance at.  Sometimes we like what we see, sometimes not so much.  In a sense, as God’s children, we have the ability to reflect our Creator similar to a mirror- a cracked mirror perhaps, but a reflection of his creation and image, nonetheless.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him…”Genesis 1:27 ( ESV)

 ^“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”  1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)

As I drove to work one morning, I found myself behind a gravel road encrusted semi-truck framed in aluminum and steel, and watched as it suddenly transformed into a brilliant red, orange, and fuchsia reflection of the gorgeous sunrise in my rear view mirror.  The dissonance of those two things- a rickety, dusty truck and a divine sunrise of other-worldly brilliance, triggered  my wonder  regarding what other reflections of God could be found if one really looked at a world filled simultaneously with both beautiful and hideous events.

Is it possible that God can be found in not only the clearly beautiful and good things of the world, but the ugly and painful as well?  Can an imperfect, fallen world filled with a teeter -totter of evil, sad, and excruciating events as well as uplifting and wondrous moments, simultaneously reflect a perfect God? Unfortunately, as human beings we are wired to detect, magnify, and retain the negative memories of life more resiliently than those of an uplifting nature.   One only has to watch the evening news to realize that it is preponderantly tragic due to the simple equation that bad news sells.  Psychology Today published an article  detailing our brain’s built in negativity bias (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200306/our-brains-negative-bias ) which underscores the battle we must constantly wage if we are to even tentatively maintain a “glass half-full” mentality.

Yet, we are gifted with consciousness and free-will,  giving us control over our thoughts.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

If we look closely enough, we discover that our intellect can be used to search out and find God’s beauty and goodness reflected in even the tragic and ugly moments of life.  In even the worst days of our life, there are still gifts to be grateful for, still moments to be appreciated, life to be cherished.  Victor E.  Frankyl, a survivor of one history’s most horrific displays of cruelty via the concentration camps of World War II wrote,

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” 

As Frankyl observed, even in the midst of abject horror, pain, and suffering, God’s love and essence could prevail.   Like a wildflower blooming in the midst of ashes left behind following a forest fire, God’s goodness and beauty cannot be contained.  God’s essence is present in all the moments, experiences, and crevices of life, and manages to manifest itself sometimes imperceptibly- sometimes suddenly and profoundly- but always emerges.  It is impossible to take God out of a world He created and inhabits through the hearts of His children.

 “…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

It is through His creation- through us- if we are willing, that God is able to most visibly manifest His goodness and reflection.  He is not just present in the beautiful and the wondrous, he is also present in the tragic, devastating, and despairing. The evil that manifests in the world through humanity’s propensity for selfishness and self-gratification does not escape God’s ability to infiltrate the darkest corners of depravity with His essence, His goodness, His light.  Darkness and selfishness is not of God, but He shows up nonetheless through love, courage, generosity, hope, faith, and every other uplifting adjective that our brains can conjure.

He is in the friends that join us in mourning, the neighbors that lend following disaster, the palm that cradles the hand of the dying, and the stranger that comforts the stranded.  He is everywhere and cannot be contained, like a transparent aroma that takes over a room.

“The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…” Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)

Despite what the headlines on tonight’s news want you to believe, God is still at work in the world through the reflections of love He places all around us and in us.  Our mirrors may be cracked by the sinful nature of humanity, but the reflection can still be beautiful,  all the same, through the presence of God’s love when we accept Christ as the atonement for our sin and let Him rule in our hearts and minds.  It is then that our mirrors can reflect beauty, love, and goodness no matter what our circumstances.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)