2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

What a glorious Scripture indeed! Some Christians despair at how little they feel they reflect Christ. The focus needs to be on removing the veil, not on trying to polish the mirror! God takes care of that polishing in many ways, some of them not so pleasant for us, but we need to seek to draw closer to Him, to see Him more. If we will do that, we will indeed be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ, who perfectly reflected His Father. (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3) I particularly like the turn of phrase the Japanese uses in the last part of this verse. It carries the feeling of, “This can be nothing other than a work of the Lord who is the Spirit.” In other words, we can’t do it! I have met numbers of earnest Christians who struggled and struggled to transform themselves, when what they needed to do was draw close to God and let Him transform them. However, that requires fully surrendering control, and we are often afraid to do that. The illogic of that is sharp: if we want to be like Jesus, why are we afraid to let Him control us? We sing the song, I Surrender All, but then hang onto control with all we’ve got. That’s no way to be transformed into the likeness of Christ!

I remember one time when I had been having a real disagreement with my wife, and I was rather down about it. One of our church members at the time, with whom I prayed frequently, said, “I get the aroma of Christ from you most strongly when you have a disagreement with Cathy.” That set me aback, but in thinking about it, at such times I was most aware of my own inability, so I was most dependent on God. Whether we reflect Christ doesn’t depend on our abilities or our emotions but on how open, how naked we are before Him, and God allows all sorts of things in our lives to move us in that direction. Yesterday’s visit to the doctor resulted in a diagnosis that my problems resulted from an antibiotic (prescribed by a different doctor for an unrelated problem) clearing out most of my intestinal flora. The possibility of that side effect had not been mentioned by the doctor who prescribed it, and for some reason it hadn’t crossed my mind. (But then, I don’t recall that I’ve had an 11-day course of antibiotics before.) Stopping the antibiotic and starting an intestinal probiotic has greatly improved my symptoms, and the experience has indeed been beneficial for me spiritually, which is what counts most. I need to be willing at every juncture to let go of control and let God be God, not passively but actively. I do indeed want to reflect Christ, so my focus needs to be on Him rather than on me: my body, my finances, my anything.

Father, thank You indeed for this experience. Thank You particularly that my problem wasn’t contagious, so I don’t have to worry about that. Thank You for these next few days as we prepare to go to Miyagi Prefecture for five days from Saturday. I ask for clear guidance as to what to do when, so that my health will be fully restored and all of Your purposes accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!