The Image of Jesus Should Be Seen in Us  

Among my various sleepwear is an old gray T-shirt. One evening I was wearing it as I was getting ready for bed when my wife noticed a small white spot on the front of it. She wondered if maybe I had gotten toothpaste on it as I had just brushed my teeth. I reminded her that this was the shirt someone had given me which originally had been emblazoned with elements from one of my favorite movies, North by Northwest. I informed her that if she looked closely, she could see that the little spot she pinpointed was actually the face of Cary Grant. After various wearings and washings over a period of time everything else had faded with only the image of the actor’s face remaining visible.

This reminds me of what the Bible says about the image of Jesus being seen in us as His followers. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18). God’s Word tells us that part of God’s purpose for us is that we “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). While we are told that such a transformation will take place more fully once we leave this earthly existence behind us, even now we should be experiencing the reality of the image of Jesus becoming more and more evident in us. Of course, we’re not talking about resembling Jesus’ physical appearance. We don’t even know what He looked like when He was here in the flesh. I doubt that He looked like handsome Cary Grant, since prophecies described Christ as not having an attractive appearance. It’s His character, qualities, and spirit which should be increasingly manifesting themselves in our lives.

Part of this process of becoming more like Jesus involves everything else that is not like Him fading away. For example, the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is often viewed as being embodiments of the spirit of Jesus. As those qualities increase in our lives, anything contrary to them should be diminishing. It’s not just about adding that which is good and Christlike to our lives, but also getting rid of anything which isn’t part of that image – such as anything that would be unloving, unkind, harsh, impatient, anxious, and lacking self-control. Sometimes I’m afraid we try to add Jesus’ likeness to our lives while still keeping everything else intact, including our own image with all its faults.   

There is an old song that points out that we need to be so giving ourselves to the Lord that it becomes “less of self and more of Thee”, even seeking for it to become “none of self and all of Thee.” As we continue on our journey with Christ, there needs to be less sin and less self in our lives and more of Jesus. We need to follow the example of the Apostle Paul who testified, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).  

Do people see Jesus in you? Maybe they see some of His qualities in your life, but is there so much of that which is un-Christlike still present that it gets in the way? Let’s pray for Jesus’ image to become more evident in our lives. Let’s cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He works in us to mold us into that image. And let’s pray that everything else will be cleansed and will fade until people see only Jesus living in us and through us.