Mirroring the glory of God

The physical world bears witness to the spiritual realm and points also to God. Just as “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1) so do the rest of creation. Color, intricacy, simplicity, unity, interdependence and may other attributes and activities reflect the Creator. Amazingly, even each element can exist in three forms, also mirroring the One Triune God.

Yet these reflections of God pale when it comes to the greatest revelation of our Creator when He became one of us through a young woman named Mary, just as the angel said . . .

“’And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:31–35)

The birth of Jesus was an event that never happened before and will not happen again, at least in the physical realm, but each time a sinner turns to Him in faith, He is born into their life, a spiritual repeat of that amazing reincarnation. As Chambers says, “What was true of the Virgin Mary in the historic introduction of God’s Son into this earth is true in every saint. The Son of God is born into me by the direct act of God; then I as a child of God have to exercise the right of a child, the right of being always face to face with my Father.”

The Incarnation points to the regeneration of sinners, with the born-again experience of each new Christian reflecting the coming of God in birth through Mary. Such reborn sinners become the children of God.

This is utterly amazing, both that the Lord Jesus Christ lives in me, and that I am a child of God with access to the Father. What joy to be in this privileged place; I can freely come before the throne of grace, and also call Him Abba, Father — Abba being the equivalent of ‘Daddy!”

Chambers asks, “Am I simple enough to identify myself with my Lord in this way?” Then he questions the clamor of life, the way most people have no room for Jesus in their lives and no time for communion with our Creator. One example is in prayer. How do I talk to God, my Father? Is the Son of God is praying in me? Or am I dictating to Him?

This question came up a few weeks ago and has not only changed the way I pray (Who am I to tell God what to do?) but also eased me into a greater simplicity of life. Why fret when my Father is sovereign over all of life? Why fear danger when He is my Protector and Defender? Why run to anything or anyone else when He is my Fortress and my Hiding Place?

There is no point in anxiety about what to do, when to do, or even if I should do it. My Father on the throne and my Savior in my heart are both using the Holy Spirit to minister their united will to me — I know what to do when I need to know it. He communicates in ways that I fully understand. Not only that, this amazing God holds my hand and gives me all I need to follow through.

He did these things for Mary who had neither the physical means nor the spiritual understanding to be the bearer of a child who would save sinners. He came into her innocent naivety and changed her life — and He changes mine, and the lives of thousands who put their faith in Him.

Mary accepted the role God gave her and became the mother of the only perfect Person ever born. That Perfect One now lives in His reborn, adopted children — not so He can be reborn in us, but so we can reflect His perfections — even as the heavens declare His glory.