Image - Part 1
Scripture Reading - Colossians 3:10 KJV
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
We have found many people who think a certain (specific, unique, particular, etc…) way and per God’s Divine Design their acts are the fruit of their thoughts. This means that most people are either projected forward by their mindset or hindered and harmed by the strongholds in their mind. We (ihlcc) thought to teach a little on this because it became quite clear to us that most people view you by their thoughts instead of who you are created to be in Christ. Why? One proposal we will present is because the eyes are the windows of the soul. Since windows themselves always work both ways it is never a problem with the actual window but rather the problem starts with the one looking through the window. We will explain a window can be looked through by someone inside the house (office, building, etc….) and that same window can also be looked into by someone on the outside of the house trying to see what’s inside. The window itself is always open for view but the one looking for something else is the one who initiates the action. Of course to see anything clearly there must (or should be) light present to see exactly what’s on the inside or what’s on the outside. If it is dark in the house or even on the outside of the house it will be very hard to see what is presently within or without the house. The key to seeing in the dark is light whether that is a porch light for the outside or a room light on the inside or a flashlight to see a specific area. Spiritually speaking man was created such that he (or she) sees others as they see themselves. This is both a blessing and a curse because depending upon how that person sees themselves will determine how you are viewed in their sight. It is said, “If you really what to understand someone you must be able to look directly into their eyes to hear (see) their heart at a louder volume than their tongue”. Yes, looking at someone quickly is surface attention whereas looking into someone over a longer period of time is a much deeper dive. Even as we (ihlcc) write this we know there are those who don’t truly understand the great value of man so they never look at people closely (over an extended period of time) to see what is truly inside. Jesus Christ shed His Precious Blood to redeem each person on the earth therefore each and every person has great value in God’s Eyes. Therefore each and every person should have great personal value in our eyes too and for that reason we should be willing to look inside of others when allowed. However, unless you understand that you can never really know a person unless you can see into their life (words and actions over a good period of time) because most people generally act on who they are. It took us a while to figure out why we (ihlcc) were so misunderstood on several things that seemed to be principles of God’s Word but one day we realized that it wasn’t all our fault because if people don’t understand the way God’s see them they will never understand their very own “image”. Yes, in the positive God sees you in Christ Jesus when you are born-again but that doesn’t automatically make you a mature person in Christ so we must be diligent to develop in the knowledge of God’s Word to conform to the very “image” (nature) of Christ Jesus. On the contrary if you are more natural minded you will not spend adequate time in God’s Word so you will not be developed into the very “image” (nature, character, substance, etc…) of God. Thus, all those who don’t choose to speak and think and be as God will automatically act ungodly. We have learned by experience you can expect to be mis-understood by all those who practice common living as opposed to spiritual expression. What we are saying is that the average person practices life as those around them so they seldom will walk by faith in speaking God’s word and being a doer of God’s Word. Yes, they would rather speak about what the analysis in the news (paper, TV or internet) are saying or what the sports players are doing on the field or on a court. A more troubling problem is that many Christians speak more about people based upon what they know on the surface then they do about God being on the inside of them. However, the scripture states in Proverbs 10:19 GNB that, “The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep quiet.” We (ihlcc) have found that all those who are spiritually minded will cater their conversation (words and actions) to their “image” of God on the inside speaking more about what He (The Lord) said as opposed to what they think. However, if the “image“ they have of themselves takes precedence over God’s Word they will see you exact how they believe whether good or bad and they will speak to you in that manner. Simply put most people will not see you favorably all the time but rather as their “image” of themselves changes so will their “image” of you change also. This explains why some relationships drift apart solely because the “image” (imagination) of both people change to the point where current thoughts and ideas are different enough to disrupt previous harmony. If we can be mature enough to agree that we disagree without anger or strife we are probably going to be alright but many people can’t overcome that hurdle. Many people have this erroneous “image” that all people in my life must be like me. This selfish mindset places people squarely into their own world without much tolerance for others who are different than their view, so their “image” (windows, eyes, perspective, etc…) is skewed making it very difficult to learn new things (ideas, doctrine, habits, etc…). Therefore be sure your “image” of yourself is godly because for sure that is the only chance others have of being correctly viewed by you in the Light of Christ Jesus. Amen!