IN Christ I Can See His Perfected Image Of Me In The Mirror!

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”Galatians 2:20-21 NKJ

For years I struggled every time I looked in the mirror because it was a reminder of the life I had lived. Sometimes the image of me in the mirror was too hard to look at because I knew what I had been through and the things I had done that were contrary to God’s best for me. At times I avoided looking in the mirror because the pain was too great! I lived like this for years until one day when the Holy Spirit prompted me to peer deep into the mirror and see my true image as a new creation IN Christ! This exercise was excruciating for me because I didn’t like to look at myself.

But as I sat there I was reminded of Christ’s death on the Cross and how He loved me so much that He was crucified for my sake. I realized that to deny seeing myself as a beautiful new creation IN Him was to deny the sacrifice He made for me on the Cross. I sat there and cried as I released the pain in my heart. From that day on every time I look in the mirror I remind myself that the image looking back at me is a beautiful new creation IN Christ. This exercise of faith has proven to be the most beneficial thing I have ever done in my relationship with God because if I can’t see His perfected image of me, I can’t portray His life in me to others.

I have said it before and I will say it again, we can’t give away what we do not own. If we do not own our new creation status IN Christ, we can’t give away the attributes that come with that new creation status. Those attributes are the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Trying to operate in these attributes long term in our own strength is impossible! This is the truth I came to understand that day when I looked in the mirror.

Maybe you too struggle with the image of yourself that you see in the mirror each day because of your memories of the things you have been through or the things you have done that were contrary to God’s best for you. I want to encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to begin to reveal the true image that He sees when He looks at you. He only sees you as a new creation IN Him through your faith In His Son! That is the beauty of the Cross! We no longer live but Christ lives in us and the life we live in the flesh we live by faith in Christ.

The process of being transformed into the image of a new creation IN Christ happened instantly on the day we said yes to Him, but the process of accepting the truth of this reality may take a long time because we struggle to see ourselves the way God sees us. This is why it is so important to renew your mind daily by meditating on the Word until it takes root in our hearts. This process may take weeks or months depending on the amount of pain you have been through. But the amount of time doesn’t matter because the benefits that come from doing it far out way the time it takes to do it.

Once you have renewed your mind and accepted your new creation status IN Christ you will see a transformation take place in the way you think. I have a friend who is discovering this daily as she is walking on this faith journey. In fact the other day she called and said, “Holly could you even imagine me thinking, speaking, and living like I am now, two years ago?” And my answer was no because who she was two years ago was the world’s projected image of a wounded person and today she is God’s projected image of His grace and righteousness. She now sees herself the way God sees her and because she has owned her status as a new creation IN Christ, she is able to live His life IN her with others. It is a beautiful sight to see one of my sisters or brothers in Christ come to the revelation knowledge of who they are IN Christ!

This is what will take you to the next level on your journey of faith because it is in knowing who you are as a new creation that empowers you to live and speak boldly to the people around you. Your life begins to bear the fruit of the Spirit and people can’t help but notice the change in you. This opens up the line of communication for you to share the transformation that has taken place and gives you the opportunity to be a witness. This is my prayer for you today as you grow deeper in your understanding of what being IN Christ means and what it means to have Christ living on the inside of you. May you grow in wisdom and understanding and one day look in the mirror to see the reflection of your living Savior looking back at you.

Prayer: Lord help me to see the image of myself that You see. Give me Your eyes and Your knowledge so I can fully accept my status as a new creation IN You. Help me to release the pains of my past that blur my vision when I look in the mirror. I believe by faith that as I renew my mind to the truth of who I am IN You and who You are IN me, I will come to accept myself as a new creation. Thank you for loving me so much that You died that I might live and now the life I live, I live by faith IN You. Amen