I am standing in a courtyard in San Francisco, having spent the day inside a tilted cube of a museum that had been rented by a client. It is 8:18 on East Coast clocks, 5:18 in this city, and people are filling the square on their way home. The fresh air is delightful, as is the late afternoon light.
There is a bright mural on a far wall. As I approach it, I see birds hopping onto the edge of a shallow pool. I click the shutter of my camera a millisecond before one takes to flight, silhouetted by the mirrored colors.
Reflecting on the reflection, I think it’s a wonderful analogy for faith.
Sometimes, I think that being a Christian is like a Rube Goldberg invention. I’ve been working down the hall from an exhibit of his work so the complicated mechanisms are fresh in my mind. Push this which triggers that which causes C to fall until finally, voila! The monkey gets his bowling ball.
Substitute reading Scripture, praying, repenting, acts of kindness, sharing the gospel and voila! The monkey is spiritually mature.
But this photo reminds me of a different dynamic. Paul makes it plain in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
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.
It’s not that there shouldn’t be hard work involved in growing in godliness. It’s just that there is a glory that is being reflected in us that is a gift of grace. And that glory isn’t some kind of impersonal power. It’s the Lord himself, sharing his dazzling nature with us, even as he helps us roll up our sleeves to get to work.
How I pray that we’ll all reflect him more!
Glorious God, you are the brilliant colors at play on the surface of our water. We long to shine forth your glory, grace and goodness so that the world may know you. Even today, be reflected in us.