Who do you reflect?

Several years ago I had the opportunity to tour a renowned art museum in Europe. There were hundreds of pictures from dozens of 17th and 18th century artists, as well as numerous modern ones. The first floor was full of abstract art that made little sense to me, but probably had great significance to someone more sophisticated. The second floor was more familiar. There were pictures of nature and daily life captured with oil and watercolor on stretched canvas. 

As I gazed at the art on the walls as I strolled along, I noticed something that caught my eye. In the corner of a very large room full of very popular art painted by very popular people, an artist had an easel set up right in front of a picture....

I walked over behind the artist to figure out what she was doing. What I witnessed caught me a little of guard.  The artist was painting a picture of a picture.  

At first I thought it was kind of strange to be painting a picture of a painting until I realized that the contemporary artist was attempting to capture the essence of the original artist.  The artist was trying to blend the same colors as the original artist and capture the right dimensions as the original artist. She was trying to be like the master painter by capturing the essence of the painting then translating it to the best of her ability onto her own canvas. When her painting was complete, it would hopefully look just like the one that is hanging in the museum.  If she did a good job, the paintings would be very hard to tell apart. 

We don’t know what Jesus looked like, but the Bible still paints us a beautiful picture of Him. We know that he was caring, kind, compassionate, honest, loving, and wise. He performed good deeds because he loved helping people. We know that he understood the scriptures and lived them out in his relationships and we know that the Bible paints a beautiful picture of Jesus for us to copy to the best of our ability on the fabric of our life. Is it possible that if we really take a look at him, we can see what we can become? The author of Hebrews writes:

“2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 NIV

Think for a minute if a close friend came to work with you or spent the day at your house. What would they see? Would they see you in a new light? Would they see a new side of you? Would your attitude and actions alter their current opinion of you? Does your life reflect Jesus?  

Often times our life reflects the culture more than the character of Jesus. It doesn’t have to be this way if we keep our eyes on Jesus and model our character after his character. Today I want to encourage you to reflect the character of Jesus. In doing so, your attitude and actions may have to change. You might have to become more patient, more caring, more kind, or show more compassion. You might have to serve others more and yourself less. I challenge you to reflect Jesus by mirroring your life after his. That’s what it means to live a Christ-centered life.