Picture of Perfection?

I hate having my picture taken. Something terrible happens between the snap of the camera lens and the photo that appears in the little window...somehow my face changes shape and becomes distorted! I tend to get discouraged and wonder how all the other people in my life look so great in print! My web-page is about to open and my friend Ginny and I are trying to make me look better! ( do you still believe in miracles?? ;-) ) You see the picture will be the thing people are going to use to judge what kind of speaker I will be if they invite me to their event.
Not fair but we are so outwardly concerned, aren't we? This week, however, our idea of looks and talent were challenged by Susan Boyle, the 47 year old Scottish charity worker who sang I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables on Britain's Got Talent. Her video has been viewed over 20 million times on YouTube. What a set of pipes! We are all astonished...why? Because she doesn't look like she could sing! Hmmm

I have thought about this from the spiritual side of things. As far as our own pictures are concerned...we want to look better than we do... I can give the excuse when people see my web-page, "Well, I just don't take good pictures. This is as good as it gets!" But do I do the same thing in real-life? Do I excuse bad-behavior by saying, "That's just the way I was raised," or "This is me and if you don't like it..." This kind of thinking will catch us in the grip of defeat when it comes to becoming more like Christ in our living. You see, the way we are now is never what we can be! If something in us doesn't "look like Christ"...it needs to change. Paul the Apostle was a great example. As Saul, he thought he was doing well...living like he thought he ought to and if the Christians didn't like it well they could just be stoned to death! (Acts 7:54-8:1) Saul thought he was doing the right thing but then he met Jesus! From that point on every part of Paul's thinking changed. God changed Saul...even changed his name to Paul. This changed man went on to spread the gospel of Christ to the Gentile world. This happened because God changed what Paul needed to change.

Outwardly many of us look great! Others admire us! Some perhaps want to be like us! But if we were truly honest, sometimes we know that our "inards" don't match our "outwards"! This realization hits when we are alone; by ourselves in the middle of the night! We don't like what we see/are and try desperately to "fix" it! A new face cream? Perhaps some surgery? New shoes? New friends? New job? New church? We try everything to make us feel/look better but what is needed is change! God brings about this change when we trust all our desires, hopes and dreams to Him. He will change our will to His and the more the change comes the more we look like His Son...Our outward might not be what the world considers beautiful...but when we open our mouths...they will be astonished.(Acts 4:13)

So, the picture is set! It won't get any better! My outward is what it is! My prayer when people meet me is, "You sure don't look like your picture!" I will secretly smile and hope what they see is Christ in me...my only hope of glory!