Reflection

Today, I sat in my little church,
In the pew I always do.
Preparing my heart for worship,
The cross was in my view.

A simple cross, that’s made of brass.
Yet, meaning so much more.
When I looked at the cross today, I sensed,
I had never seen it before.

For as I looked upon that cross,
So simple, in my view,
I was surprised…just mesmerized,
When I saw me and you!

In the cross I saw the faces,
Of my sweet church family there.
Reflected back…right in the brass.
It was a sight so rare.

I see that cross there every week.
Central to my view.
But I never saw…or ever looked,
At the faces of me and you.

I don’t know if anyone saw it.
Or it hit them in just the same way.
But there I was and I couldn’t deny,
The faces I saw today.

Just what it meant, I pondered and thought.
How important to see faces there.
The faces He died for, upon that cross.
When He died, our sins He would bear.

The faces He saw as He took His last breath.
The ones carried close to His heart.
The faces He thought of as He bled and died.
The promise we never would part.

I saw the faces of Moms and of Dads,
The faces of small children, too.
The faces that mean so much to Him.
The hearts that He would make new.

I needed that precious reminder.
The reflections I saw clearly there.
I sat under His Word…the Word that I heard.
How He loves me…and how much He cares.

I am grateful for the reflection,
I saw in the cross today.
There at the cross, salvation is found.
Through Him…there’s no other way!

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 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant – the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant and they were afraid to come near him…When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with Him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went to speak to the Lord.
(Exodus 34:29,30,33-35)

When Moses was in the Lord’s presence, he reflected the Lord’s Glory.
He reflected His Glory so brilliantly, the people were afraid.
They were so afraid, Moses had to cover his face with a veil to shield their eyes.

When was the last time I reflected the Lord’s Glory so brilliantly?
After time with the Lord, in worship or in prayer, does my countenance reflect His?
Do people see more of Him and less of me?

These are important questions we need to ask ourselves.

When I saw the faces of my brothers and sisters in Christ reflected in the cross, I paused.
The simple profundity took my breath away.

The Gospel was right there in front of me!

God the Father is a Holy God who cannot look at sin.
Since we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we can never be in God’s presence. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22) of sin. There had to be a perfect sacrifice to appease the wrath of a Holy God.

Jesus, the Son of God, lived a perfect, sinless life.
He was sent by God the Father to die on the cross in our place…as our substitute.
Jesus died…was buried…and rose again on the third day.
God the Father accepted Jesus’ perfect sacrifice…as the atonement for our sin.

The faces of each and every person Jesus died for, are reflected in that cross.
I know that…Biblically.
Today, I saw it…actually.

A simple brass cross, sitting right in the center of the communion table, reflecting His beloved…the ones He died for…you and me!

The question I ponder and desire to live out in my life: Do I reflect Him?
Lord Jesus, help me to reflect Your Glory…so that others will see You clearly in me.