Reflection of new creation
When you look in the mirror, what image do you see? In the well-known fairy tale, Snow White's evil stepmother considered herself the fairest in the land—an image she could only achieve through an enchanted mirror. My mirror doesn't speak; it shows me a crystal-clear, albeit reversed, image of myself. This reflection doesn't reveal a flawless person, but rather an older, balding, plump, and sleepy grump. The mirror also reveals a selfish, greedy, and vain individual who, despite a lifelong struggle against sin, repeatedly loses control, indulges in impertinence, and isn't entirely truthful. Other people might see me as an average, likeable fellow, someone they'd enjoy going out for a meal with or attending a football match with. Paul writes that the mirror doesn't reveal our true selves, but only a distorted, incomplete image: "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; Then I will know, even as I am fully known. (1. Kor 13,12).
Our present life is like an unfinished work. One day we will recognize ourselves as God created us for life in Jesus Christ and as He already knows us today. As soon as we surrender our lives to God, we will be born again to a new spiritual life: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2. Kor 5,17).
Through conversion, we take on the image of God, our Creator, in Christ. Your life should reflect this new spiritual reality. Paul therefore exhorts us: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you have died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Kol 3,1-4).
This truth isn't just for a future time—it's already a reality. When I look in the mirror, I don't see the new me sitting with Christ at the right hand of the Father, but rather the familiar sinner who is struggling to improve. Paul reminds us that we have died and risen with Christ. The new life in it may remain hidden at first until Christ reveals himself. In that moment, our true selves will also become visible, just as God intended for us in Jesus Christ. Salvation cannot be earned, and we become neither righteous nor morally perfect through our own efforts. God has already done everything necessary for us. It's not about striving to meet standards, but about trusting that in Christ we have risen and become a new person.
Throughout the New Testament, Paul calls for righteous behavior because we are already in Christ and he lives in us through the Spirit of God. He does not require us to improve ourselves in order to be accepted by him. The idea that we must first be good before God saves us loses its validity. It is about believing in the reality that has already come to pass: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Röm 5,8).
From the experience of being enemies of God now arises the promised life, which in its fullness leads to salvation: “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Röm 5,10).
The late theologian Thomas Torrance put it this way: "Precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, Jesus Christ died for you and thereby—whether you believe in him or ever will—has already made you his own. By his love, he has bound you indissolubly to himself because, even if you reject him, his love will never be extinguished."
Such a comprehensive act of salvation, such indescribable love and unconditional grace, cannot be earned or altered—neither through good nor bad behavior. The only access is faith. Through Jesus Christ, God has already given us everything: grace, justification, and salvation. All we can do is trust that he is our salvation and our life: “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Kol 3,4).
There is often a misconception that the Gospel calls us to improve ourselves, along the lines of "Become a decent person, and God will love you." In fact, love is at the heart of the Gospel—the love of God for us, which existed even before our conversion and from which our love for him springs: "Let us love one another, for he first loved us." (1. Joh 4,19).
God loved you even before you were born, and He loves you today, even when you sin in certain situations. He will never abandon you, even if you don't perfectly live up to moral standards of good behavior on any single day. This is the good news and truth of the Gospel: Jesus Christ is our righteousness, our salvation, and our redemption: "It is through him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom through God—that is, our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is what is written: 'Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'" (1. Kor 1,30).
Everything we receive does not come from our own strength. We contribute nothing to salvation; rather, we can rely on him to be for us everything we cannot achieve on our own. The realization that he loved you first frees us from the selfishness of our heart and makes it possible to love him and our neighbor sincerely. Love cannot be forced or contractually stipulated; it is freely given and freely accepted. God gives us his love and wants us to receive it gratefully.
The Holy Spirit guides and invites us to participate in the new life of love that God has given us in Christ, so that we can experience how we become the new people that God has already made us to be in Jesus Christ. This is how God knows and sees us, even if we cannot yet fully realize this or admit it to ourselves. The next time you look in the mirror, consider for a moment how God sees you. He recognizes in you the true image – his beloved child, whose sins are forgiven and guilt wiped out, for whom he created a new creature in Jesus Christ. The mirror may show what it will, but never forget: the new you is already sitting with Jesus at the right hand of the Father, loved and protected, awaiting the day when Christ will reveal himself. What God sees in you is the true image.
by J. Michael Feazell
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