Construction blueprints often include pictorial renderings of the future building. Sometimes a project owner has miniature model houses created in order to impose a mental imprint. Now no matter how realistic an architects’ prototype, it always points to something else. It represents a pattern for the real edifice. Prototypes are vitally important. They burn images into the minds of project owners and builders and act as virtual guides for construction accuracy. The Bible is replete with remarkable prototypes that reveal the Master’s original design for mankind.
The Ark of Covenant
Exactly three months after Israel left Egypt, God called Moses to Mount Sinai and gave him very detailed instructions. Stretching from chapter 16 through 31 of Exodus, the Bible details God’s mind on Israel’s conduct. Moses was to erect a Tabernacle of Congregation, a portable prayer sanctuary, if you like, where God would meet the people. In the Tabernacle, there would be an Ark of Covenant that represented God’s Presence. There were altars, tables, vessels of service, priestly gear, etc. God told Moses, “You are to make it according to everything I show you — the design of the tabernacle and the design of its furnishings. This is how you are to make it.” (Exo 25:9 ~CJB) Having escaped Egyptian slavery, Israel was now enrolled in liberty syllabus—godly edification.
The point we need to get across is how particular God is. His instructions are never vague or misleading. God’s dealings with Israel, as recorded in the Old Testament, are a prototype of His New Testament Church. There are details about which we may not adequately interpret, and Hebrews chapter nine makes reference to the fact. We don’t need to translate what was exclusively meant for Israel at a specific moment of time. In this article, we focus on a prototype of very great significance—God’s design for you and me!
The Power of Imagery
22 Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life![u] 23 If you listen to the Word and don’t live out the message you hear, you become like the person who looks in the mirror of the Word to discover the reflection of his face in the beginning.[v] 24 You perceive how God sees you in the mirror of the Word,[w] but then you go out and forget[x] your divine origin. 25 But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty[y] are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it—they experience God’s blessing in all that they do! (James 1:22-25 ~Passion)
For the longest time, I read this passage but didn’t get the gist of its content. I thought we examine the mirror of the Word to see the flaws we need to correct. In everyday life, we don’t look at the mirror for self-admiration, but to fix our looks for the public square. Our personal appearance defines our level of confidence. The purpose of a mirror is to aid self-assessment, but when we transfer that concept to the Mirror of the Word, we miss the point James is making.
We look “in the mirror of the Word to discover the reflection of his face in the beginning. You perceive how God sees you in the mirror of the Word.” We discover “our divine origin.” Unlike the natural looking-glass, God’s Word does NOT reflect back at us the modified image of what sin has turned us into. Instead, it shows the ORIGINAL picture of who we were created to be. It pulls from God’s album the original design of you and I.
Imagine, if you can, a time when you looked your very best. Perhaps it was your freshman first day at college, full of life, innocence and optimism; or at a birthday party with loved ones milling around in joyous splendor. Perhaps it was your graduation day as you beamed with anticipation. It could have been your wedding day where life promised a limitless treasure vault of wealth, happiness and peace. Things didn’t quite turn out as you expected. Instead, you’ve grown older, frailer, and your mind and body are beat-up in a million ways…
Now imagine standing in front of an overblown mirror in pristine sunshine with a large multitude of people watching, but the mirror doesn’t reflect your current appearance. Instead, that lovely, hope-filled, long forgotten picture beams at you with radiant eyes! You are ecstatic. You want to relive that moment over and over. You want that picture frozen and immortalized.
Want some good news? God’s image of you is a gazillion times better than that little illustration!
Who takes a quick glance at a picture like that? You stare at it until you are fully immersed in its charm. “…those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty are fascinated…” In their fascination, they “respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it” so that “they experience God’s blessing in all that they do!”
How does it work? By continually meditating and memorizing God’s Word. You “always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life! You recite the Word of God concerning who it says you are. You meditate. Remember the poems they taught you at kindergarten? All day, every day, say to yourself, “Jesus loves me, this I know. I am created in God’s image. I reflect my Maker. I resemble my Father; I have His mind, I speak His Words, I think His thoughts. God delights in me and rejoices in my success. I am saved, forgiven, and sanctified. I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me…!”
A Different Kind of Look
Have you ever looked at a dear friend or relative in dismal state of health? Have you ever been the recipient of very good news? How did it affect you? Information can affect us profoundly. I’ve looked at, or received info about someone and my legs couldn’t support my weight. I have received news that instantly overdosed me on adrenalin, and I thought I’d fly right into the skies. This is that kind of news. God is telling you, “I created you to reflect Me, and that is the only picture I have of you!” Now discard all images of your corrupted self and stare at the mirror of His Word. That is the only genuine image, and it has miraculous power to transform your life.
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth. (Genesis 1:26-28 ~The Message)
Looking steadfastly at the mirror of God’s Word, we discover our true selves. We are energized by the truth of it. Life springs into our spirits and we rise to our full potential. We realize our hidden abilities and boldly claim our rightful place of authority. We discard mental chains of defeat and cry out in the Spirit, “Abba Father, be glorified in me!” We receive power, favor, intelligence! We represent God in this world. We are His ambassadors here and now. “…you are the ones chosen by God, …God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” (1 Peter 2:9-10 ~The Message)
Different people see differently. Quality control agents are trained to pick out defective products. Their eyes search for faulty goods. On the other hand, builders study the prototype. They only want to reproduce original designs. They must first see in their minds what they attempt to recreate on the ground. God wants us to study His Word. As we stare intently at the mirror of His Word the perfecting law of liberty knocks out flaws and our Father is reflected in us. “So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next…” (II Cor 3:18 CJB)
These truths were Adam and Eve’s everyday experience. For us who’ve drifted away for the last two millennia, a message like this may seem absurd. Bad data turns people into cynics that dispense waves of negative energy. Our natural intellect protests, “No! No! I don’t feel that way at all. I feel weak, dull, defeated. Sure we do; our earthly lives are always bombarded with data that tells us how bad we are, what we can’t achieve, and how unattainable God’s plan is. Years of disappointment and suffering solidify corrupt opinions of ourselves.
Thankfully, God’s perspective is not dependent on our fickle feelings. Our heavenly Father does not change His picture of us based on how we feel. As a human father, every mental image I have of my daughters is beautiful, no matter how unworthy they might feel. In fact, when my children feel discouraged, I am more motivated to reassure them. I carry beautiful photos of them in my wallet and constantly stop to admire them. Now I am just a human father. God is not subject to human limitations. Seeing ourselves the way He sees us is the first step in rising to our fullest potential as imitators of God.