by MeredithNMills | Jul 29, 2016 | Family, Identity in Christ, knowing God, Uncategorized, Victorious Living, Walking by Faith
By Meredith Mills
@DazzledByTheSon
“You can’t deny that one’s yours!”
Mini-me
That was the comment we heard as my husband carried our littlest into the church where he would be speaking later that morning. It’s true – she definitely bears his image. In fact, I’ve been told she’s the female version of him as a child. There’s something really special about seeing ourselves in our children.
It’s pretty amazing, this image-bearing business.
Even more amazing is the fact that we bear our Heavenly Father’s image.
In the beginning, God set out to make humanity as a reflection of Himself. He wanted creation’s climax to resemble Him. And they did.
But then sin entered the picture. The pinnacle of creation, the creatures after His likeness, the first man and woman chose the one thing God had forbidden. And God’s image in mankind was distorted.
God’s image was distorted.
Instead of reflecting His purity, they were infected with the nature of sin. This new nature would be passed on to every human ever born (with the exception of the God-man, Jesus).
Instead of reflecting God’s eternal nature, their spirits died instantly and their bodies began the fatal process of aging.
Instead of reflecting God’s sacrificial heart of love, they became self-protective and accusatory, pointing fingers to conceal their guilt.
Instead of uninhibited friendship with God and each other, they felt the pangs of shame, so they covered up and hid from God.
At that decisive moment, everything changed.
Well, not everything.
The relentless, unfailing love of God stayed the same. And His sovereign plan still reigned supreme.
For you see, all was not lost. His image was defiled, but it was not destroyed. Repeatedly in the Old Testament, God reminds us that humanity still bears His image. In fact, that’s the basis for how we’re to treat one another – we all carry His likeness, so we’re to honor each other as fellow-image bearers.
Yet His image was marred, so He would fix that. He would not leave us this way.
In the greatest recovery mission of all time, the Son of God stepped into our world – in human flesh, yet exactly representing the Father. He lived and died and rose again – all to redeem a people made in His image. All to restore His true likeness in mankind.
That’s us, fellow Jesus lover! We’ve been made in His image at conception, reborn with a new nature at salvation, and are being transformed into a true picture of our God!
He can be seen in us in so many ways…
- When we love that difficult person, we look like our forgiving Father.
- When we endure the hardships of this life, we model our Suffering Savior.
- When we enjoy the good things He’s given, we show the world a Daddy who delights in His children and loves giving good gifts.
- When we engage in our professions, we reflect various aspects of His character. He’s our Parent, Teacher, Healer, Counselor, Helper, Leader, Judge, Creator, Designer… Whatever we do on a daily basis, God’s image can be seen in us.
That gives so much meaning and purpose to my daily life. Wiping noses, cooking meals, teaching children, cleaning up messes, putting thoughts on paper, building relationships – it all can be a picture of God. It’s an overflow of His image in me.
Every person looks like God to some degree or another. But those redeemed through faith in Christ – we can become more like Him each day as we participate in His Spirit’s work in our lives.
I don’t know what a heavenly reception looks like, but how awesome would it be to wake up in the arms of our Daddy and hear whispers going through the crowd – “We can’t deny that one’s His! She looks so much like Him!”
Oh, how I want to look like my Daddy! How about you?
Transformed into His image
How do you reflect God’s image in your daily life? In what ways have you seen Him transform you? I’d love hear!
Related Posts:
It Wasn’t Supposed to Be This Way
We’re Free!
Welcomed Home
by MeredithNMills | Apr 24, 2016 | Identity in Christ, Uncategorized, Walking by Faith
Sometimes our vision changes.
Walking with Jesus
When I set out on this blogging journey, my goal was to chronicle my walk with Christ. I was at the tail end of a pretty dark season. Life had recently come crashing down around me, and everything I thought I believed came into question. (To read more, please check out My Journey.)
“Two things I’m certain about,” I confided in a friend. “The Bible is the Word of God, and I’m saved by the blood of Jesus. Beyond that, I just don’t know right now.” Specific Christian doctrine, practical Christian living…it all needed to be reexamined.
Thankfully, those two certain beliefs are the bedrock of our faith and our God is a Master Rebuilder.
For a time, I thought I needed to rebuild my faith through prayer and Bible study, but then I came across the following verse in Colossians 2:7: “Having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith…” All those verbs – they’re in the passive tense, meaning I’m not the one doing them. Rather, I’m receiving the actions of Another.
Maybe that seems trivial, like mere semantics, but it took a weight off my shoulders. I realized that, just as God rooted me in Him at salvation, so He Himself is building and establishing my faith. My role is to abide in Him and welcome His work in me. (See John 15.)
During the course of this rebuilding project, I’ve learned that “identity” is a core issue in the Christian faith – most importantly, an accurate knowledge of God is essential. Of secondary, but also vital, importance is knowing my own identity as a child of God. These two things are like lenses through which I view and interact with the world around me.
Looking at life through the lens of identity
God showed me that my understanding was flawed in both areas. So I’ve been taking notes as I read through Scripture of everything I see related to those two issues. My big, thick journal is almost full because, guess what? God has LOTS to say about identity. (And I’m not even half-way through the Bible yet!)
He longs to be known! And He wants us to know who we really are, too.
So I think it’s time to shift the focus here, or rather to “zoom in” on this aspect of our faith. I’d like to share with you what I’m learning, and I’d really love to learn from your journey, as well. Together, in the Body of Christ, we have the greatest treasure the world has ever known – friendship with God. Because He drew near, we can know Him and be secure in Him.
So stay tuned and prepare to be…encouraged!
Related Posts:
When Life Falls Apart
Identity Crisis
by MeredithNMills | Jan 15, 2016 | confidence, fear, freedom, grace, knowing God, ministry, rest, serving, Uncategorized, Walking by Faith
“Don’t You care that she’s not helping me?”
Martha’s words reflected the turmoil in her soul. With so much to do, how could Mary just sit there? Did she forget about their large dinner party tonight? The food wouldn’t cook itself!
Martha wanted so much for everything to be perfect – the meal, the accommodations, the service. It wasn’t everyday that Jesus came to visit! She had to make sure He was comfortable during His stay. He needed to feel honored, to know how much she loved Him. But…how could she do it all alone?
“Don’t You care that she’s left me to do all the work? Tell her to get up and get busy!”*
Do you ever feel like Martha? I know I do. All the time. Hubby jokes about my impossible “to do” lists. But it’s true. I seem incapable of creating a “to do” list that’s actually doable.
Oh, I totally get Martha. I know what it’s like to feel resentful when my priorities are not a priority to others.
So when I came across this passage in my Bible reading last week, I spent a while reflecting on it. Where did Martha go wrong? What is life’s one true necessity that Mary chose? And seriously, did Jesus not care about dinner? I mean, just practically speaking, how was dinner going to get on the table if both Mary and Martha sat at His feet?
What strikes me most in this account is the tenderness that exudes from Jesus’ gentle rebuke.
“Martha, Martha…My dearly loved Martha! I do see your hard work! I know you want to honor me and prove your devotion. But, Martha, that’s not what I want from you! You’re so distracted, so anxious, so uptight. You’re trying so hard all the time. Trying to take care of everyone. Trying to stay on top of things. Trying to do the right thing.
“I want you to quit trying and just come rest.
“Just be near Me. Listen to My heart. That’s what Mary has chosen. I won’t send her away to get busy.”*
The key difference, it seems, between the two sisters is this – Martha was driven to serve, while Mary drew near in love. Her adoration compelled her to just be close. To hang on His every word. To listen to His heart. To know Him deeply.
And Jesus said nothing in the world matters more.
His call to know Him and be near Him is woven through all the pages of Scripture.
“Cease striving and know that I am God…” (Ps 46:10a).
“Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Phil 3:8).
“Oh, that we might now the Lord! Let us press on to know Him…” (Hos 6:3a).
“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good…” (Ps 73:28a).
“Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace…” (Heb 4:16a).
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (Jas 4:8).
Boil it all down, and we find this at the heart of Christianity – being near God. It’s expressed in many different ways…Abiding in Him. Drawing near to Him. Learning from Him. Loving Him. Fixing our eyes on Him. But it all comes back to intimate nearness with God. Everything else in life flows out of that.
This nearness is certainly cultivated in quiet alone times with Him. But thankfully, for this mama with littles (who finds “quiet time” a bit elusive), I’m learning it can also be cultivated in the noise and activity of life. In my busy “Martha moments,” when dinner truly must get on the table, I can still have the heart of Mary as I rest in my relationship with Him. Serving my family (and anything else I do) can be an overflow of my walk with Him. As I receive and rest in His love, I can freely give it to those around me.
So whatever our season, however busy our days, let us press on to know Him!
How do you cultivate the nearness of God in your daily life?
*This is my paraphrase. 🙂 You can read the whole story in Luke 10:38-42.
by MeredithNMills | Nov 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
When your days are numbered, you look at life differently.
The pitter patter of not-so-little feet wakes me from my slumber. My bathroom light shocks the early morning darkness. Thirty seconds later comes my little boy’s voice, “Mama, I love you.” Then he climbs in bed and snuggles up next to me. Almost every morning.
Why doesn’t he use the hall bathroom, I sometimes wonder, frustrated at the moments of lost sleep.
Later in the day… “I need mommy love!” comes a tiny voice as my baby girl stretches her little hands up to me.
Sometimes I sigh. Her timing is rarely convenient.
That night…“Mama, can we look up that song I wanted to show you?” This time it’s my almost-tween. She’s so grown up, so beautiful. She has her own tastes, her own style – a fact I abruptly realized last time I took her clothes shopping. I forget how much she still needs me.
It’s so easy to see their requests and needs as interruptions. I often mistake their cries for relationship as more “work” for me. And I begrudge the gifts that they and God are offering me.
Sometimes the tyranny of the urgent distracts me from the beauty of the moment.
Someday my little boy will wake me up to snuggle for the last time. One day my baby girl will say, “I need mommy love”…and then never say it again. The day will come when my big girl offers her last invitation to look into her soul as we just sit and listen to her favorite songs together. Because kids grow up. Time moves on. And today’s gifts are gone.
My living room will stay tidy one day. No more dolls and toys and art supplies strewn all over the rug. No more books hiding under the couch. No more tiny construction vehicles to step on in the middle of the night. Because this season I’m living is just that – a season.
“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts” (Ps 90:12).
Our days are numbered. We will never see these moments again. Ever. They will soon be simply memories.
Today is a gift from the Giver of all good things. Let’s stop and breathe and choose to rejoice in the things that really matter.
O God, give me wisdom to see the gifts You extend each day. When I get too busy to cherish your goodness – arrest my attention. Refocus me. Remind me that all our days are numbered. Give me wisdom to see and savor Your gifts.
What gifts has God given you in your current season? How will you slow down and savor them today?
by MeredithNMills | Jul 15, 2015 | Uncategorized
Like dry, parched ground – that’s how my heart has felt lately.
It’s been a while since I blogged. The reason? I haven’t had much to say. I haven’t known what to write about.
Last weekend, I went to a Beth Moore conference and that’s when I realized how very parched my soul has been. I have been catching snippets of time with God, but honestly, I’ve been lazy in my pursuit of Him. During the conference, I was reminded of the magnetism of Jesus. He is relentlessly pursuing my heart, even when I’m not pursuing Him.
Beth talked about the concept of gravity, which she defined as “a force of attraction between two objects; that which pulls an object of lesser mass toward an object of greater mass.” She gave the following acronym to illustrate what she called “divine gravity” – God Revealing A Vast Intensity Toward You.
God, the far greater “mass,” is constantly pulling this lesser “mass” (me) toward Himself. How awesome is that? He doesn’t wait for me to initiate. He doesn’t demand that I meet Him halfway. His heart of vastly intense love never stops loving, never stops drawing. I am so grateful.
When I lived in a performance mindset, I was pretty disciplined in reading Scripture and in prayer. But I often did it because it was the right thing, the spiritual thing, to do. As God is setting me free from performance-based living, I’ve wrestled with the why behind what I am called to do. If all things are lawful for me in Christ (1 Cor 6:12, 10:23), if I am fully accepted in Him regardless of what I do (Rom 8:1), then what motivates me to seek and obey God? What should compel me to “discipline myself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim 4:7)? I’d like to take the next few blog posts to share what I’m learning on this subject.
We often think of eternal life as something we get when we die. But in reality, eternal life begins the moment we are born again through faith in Jesus. (“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” 1 Jn 5:11. And “…I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” Gal 2:19-20.)
When we come to faith in Christ, we are given more than “fire insurance,” more than a key to heaven, more than a future inheritance. We are adopted into a new family, with a Father who longs to relate to us.
To view salvation as simply a future event would be like a street child adopted by the richest man in town, who then continues to live on the streets, content with the promise of an inheritance. Or like a prostitute wooed, loved and wed, only to continue in her former occupation, knowing her husband’s wealth will one day be hers. How short-sighted, how vastly inferior, would such a life be!
Such are our lives if we do not walk in relationship with the God who has saved us. He has revealed Himself in His Word. He has deposited His Spirit into our hearts. He has invited us to His throne room. He holds out the offer of eternal, abundant life here and now. How much we miss if we do not throw ourselves into walking with Him!
I do not have to read my Bible or pray or abide in Him to keep being His child or make Him like me. But I do have to read the Word and pray and abide in Him to experience the life that He’s given me. His Word and His presence are the Source of spiritual life and freedom. As a plant needs sun, water and food to bear fruit, so I need the Light of the World, the Giver of living water, and the Bread of life to bear spiritual fruit. I cannot produce it on my own.
If you are God’s child, you were adopted into His family for the purpose of a relationship with Him. (If you’d like to know more about becoming His child, click here.) You are vastly loved, constantly pursued, and infinitely supplied by the God who gave His life to make you His own. His Word is not a book of rules, but your very life. In His presence is fullness of joy.
So let us press on to know Him more. Let us throw off the sin that masquerades as our life. Let us persevere in this walk of faith. How? By fixing our hearts’ eyes on Jesus – the Source, Sustainer and Sanctifier of our faith (Heb 12:1-2).
If Jesus is the Source of our daily eternal life, how does that affect you in the moment-by-moment dailyness of life?
