Scripture: Mark 12:28-34; Psalms 146 and Hebrews 9:11-14
Theme: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You
Proposition: In Sharing the Great Commandment, Jesus focuses on our love for God, our love for others and our love for ourselves. This sermon is designed to help us see ourselves as God sees us thereby allowing us to look at others through the same lens. God sees us as 1. A wonderful and beautiful creation 2. God sees us a people to love 3. God sees us as people to whom He can be One with and 4. God sees us as People to redeem, renew and restore.
INTRO:
"Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all?" asks the Evil Queen.
That question was posed each day by the evil Queen in the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Every day she looked forward to her magic mirror telling her that she was by far the fairest of them all. Each day the Evil Queen would wake up, go to her mirror to receiver her daily affirmation. However, one day, the mirror revealed to her that that Snow White was now the most fairest of all in the land. Snow White had replaced the Evil Queen as the fairest of them all. The Evil Queen became outraged and from that day forward, the Evil Queen plotted Snow White's death. The power of a mirror.
Did you know this morning that mirrors have been around a very long time? What we know as mirrors today were invented in Germany 180 years ago. In 1835, a German chemist, Justus von Liebig developed a process for applying a thin layer of metallic silver to one side of a pane of clear glass and the first modern mirror was created. Von Liebig's technique was quickly adapted and improved upon, allowing for the mass production of mirrors all over the world. Over time mirrors became a commonplace piece of furniture in home everywhere.
Today, most homes in America have on average eight wall mirrors. Did you know according to most studies the average American woman looks in a mirror at least 8 to 10 times daily, but over 70% say that they do not like what they see. At least a fourth of the women say that they look in the mirror over 20 times a day. How do men do? On average, men don't look into mirrors as much, but one interesting study in Britain showed that vain men shared that they had to look at themselves over 30 times a day. The power of a mirror.
History tells us that the earliest mirrors of course, were pools of water where people would gaze at their reflections. According to vision scientist Dr. Jay Enoch in the journal Optometry and Vision Science, people in Anatolia, (modern-day Turkey) manufactured the first man made mirrors out of ground and polished obsidian (volcanic glass) about 8,000 years ago. Mirrors made of polished copper later popped up in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Egypt from 4000 to 3000 B.C . About 1,000 years later, people in Central and South America began making mirrors out of polished stone, while Chinese and Indian mirror makers crafted them out of bronze. Mirrors have been around for a long time, allowing us to look at ourselves and others.
Mirrors are valuable tools most of us use every day. They enable us to shave better and be able to see what we are doing when it comes to brushing or combing our hair. They enable us to see if we look presentable enough to go outside and for the ladies mirrors are great friends in helping them put on makeup and lipstick. A mirror helps us see to see what we look like at a particular time and place. But mirrors have other uses as well. Think how valuable mirrors are in helping us drive our vehicles or providing a measure of safety in the stores we shop.
This morning, I would like to take the metaphor of a mirror and expand it just a little. This morning, I would like to invite all of us to look at a very particular mirror. A supernatural mirror created by our Heavenly Father. I would like for us to see what we look like in God's mirror.
Why? If we can understand this morning what we look like in God's mirror, it will help us to better understand ourselves and even how we are to understand other people. By looking in God's mirror we can better understand how we are to treat one another. By looking in God's mirror we can better live out a life of loving God, loving ourselves and loving others.
In Mark 12:28-34, our writer shares with us Jesus' conversation with a particular scribe. This particular scribe had been observing Jesus as he talked to some Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians. They were asking Jesus all kinds of questions. Not your normal run of the mill questions, but questions that centered around the hot button issues of their day. Jesus' inquirers were asking questions that ranged from politics to theology, from taxes to everlasting life.
The Pharisees, Sadducees and the Herodians had an agenda. They were teaming up in an attempt to get Jesus to trap Himself with His own words. They wanted Jesus to say something that they could then use against Him in a court of law. They really were not interested in Jesus' teaching or insight. All they wanted to do was to take Jesus' words, twist them and then destroy Him with them. They wanted to trap Jesus.
They did not realize to whom they were talking. If they had realized that Jesus was the Son of God then they would have known that they were never going to outsmart Jesus. They would have never asked Jesus such foolish questions in the first place. All these verses share is the foolishness of these men who could not see Jesus for who He is, The Very Begotten Son of God. They were truly men who had the ability to see but were blind, had the ability to hear but were deaf.
Anyway, verses 28 - 32 share that this particular scribe comes to ask Jesus a question about what He would consider the greatest of all the commandments. In Jesus' day most Jews believed that God had given them some 613 commandments to follow. 613 commandments that if one followed one them, one could be assured of being in a right relationship with God. It was said that God gave 613 commandments because there were 365 days in a solar year and they had been 248 generations of mankind. Others said that God gave 365 commandments that told a man/woman what they should not do and 248 commandments that told them what they could do to obey God and that added up to 613. Anyway, you look at it, 613 commandments is a rather large set of commandments to live by each day.
In verses 29-31 Jesus takes all the Law, the Prophets, the Writings and the Sayings and He reduces them to one primary commandment. While other Old Testament writers and other rabbis had attempted to do this, Jesus was the only one who pulled together all the necessary ingredients to bring everything under one commandment.1 Jesus' commandment is simply one commandment with three parts:
+Love God - with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
+Love Yourself
+Love Your neighbor as you love yourself.
Let's focus for just a few minutes this morning on that second part - "loving oneself."
Jesus' commandment requires that we are to love others in the same way/manner that we love ourselves. Jesus' commandment therefore presupposes that we have a positive spiritual view of who we are this morning. We therefore need to look in God's mirror and see ourselves as our Heavenly Father sees us. If we can "look in God's mirror", we will better understand how to both love ourselves and thereby love God and others as well. A healthy spiritual love of self will enable us to love God and others. Let me repeat that - A HEALTHY SPIRITUAL LOVE OF SELF WILL ENABLE US TO LOVE GOD AND OTHERS.
Now, of course, God is not wanting any of us to have some kind of self-worship love. God is not seeking for us to becoming stuck up or giving ourselves over to some kind of carnal type of love. We all know that would lead to becoming narcissistic and spiritually derogative. Jesus simply want us to see ourselves in God's Holy Mirror. Again, A HEALTHY SPIRITUAL LOVE OF SELF WILL ENABLE US TO LOVE GOD AND OTHERS.
Let's look at how the Bible reveals to us how God see us this morning:
I. The first thing that God's mirror reveals to us is that we His wonderful and beautiful creation.
Genesis 1:26 - 27 reminds us that we are made in God's image.
"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Psalms 8 reminds us that you and I were made just a little lower than the angels. And we were crowned with glory and honor. We were given dominion over all the things of this earth.
But one of the greatest descriptions we find about us humans is found in Psalms 139:13-18
Psalm 139:13-16 English Standard Version (ESV)
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a] Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
The Psalmist does his best to capture the majesty and beauty that we possess as God's created beings. This morning, we need to look at ourselves in God's mirror and rejoice. We all have been created by God. We are not some accident, we are not merely fetal tissue and we are not mere flesh and blood. We have all been uniquely designed and put together by God's hands. The Bible tells us that we are His last and highest creation on planet earth.
The more we see ourselves this way the more we can see the greatness and value of other humans. For if we are God's highest and most wonderful creation then the person right next to us is also God's highest and most wonderful creation.
Our family members, our friends and our enemies all share the same divine image this morning. The homeless, the immigrant, the least, the last and the lost, they all share the same divine image this morning. The educated, the poor, the rich and the illiterate, they all share the same divine image this morning. Moslems, Jews, Russians, Syrians and Americans - we all are God's highest creations.
We need today, to remind ourselves who we are and by doing so remind ourselves who others are as well. We are all God's beautiful creation. Others are God's beautiful creation. The more we understand this Bible fact, the better we view ourselves and others. How much different would all people around the world treat themselves and others if they could just capture and retain this Biblical fact - we are created in the image of God and are His highest creation here on planet earth.
II. Secondly, God's mirror shows us as His Glorious Bride - as the One He Loves and Has Given His Life for Her Redemption, Renewal and Restoration.
The Bible is abounding with scriptures that describe us as God's potential Bride (Hosea 2:16ff; Isaiah 54:5; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7-9), but perhaps there is no greater example of how much God loves us than what John shares with us in John 3:16-17.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
The Holy Trinity did not manufacture us like some kind of clock or a piece of machinery. We are not just some cog in God's great big plan for His universe. God's Word is clear, God made us, fashioned us out of love to be loved by Him and to love one another. God made us to Be His Holy Bride. We were designed to experience the most intimate of relationships with God.
Look again at verses 29 - 31, Jesus does not refer either to the Temple or even to the Law when He gives the commandment. Jesus' primary focus of the commandment stands and falls on the relationship of love. Love God, love yourself and love others.
Love is the key to everything. Love is the foundation of creation. Love is why we humans come together and join together as man and wife. And it is out of that love relationship that we are able to create new life. We start our families with love and we sustain our families with love. Love holds us together.
1 Corinthians chapter 13 proclaims to everyone the primacy of love. More important than even being able to speak in either the tongues of men or angels is the ability to give and receive love. Love is more important that knowledge and wisdom. Love is more important that possessing all power and riches of this world.
And this morning we are to understand that this thing called "LOVE" - this thing, this experience that is #1 over all else is how God looks at us. He loves us and because He loves us we are loveable. And because we are loveable we therefore are to see one another as people who are to be loved. For when we love someone we will surrender and sacrifice everything for that person. So, the more we understand how much God loves us, the more we understand how we are to see one another - with eyes, hearts and minds of love.
Today in America we would not have an immigration problem, a financial problem or even a health care problem if we could capture this Biblical truth that God loves us and therefore we are to love one another and to reach out to one another in love. Love is the answer to all our world's needs.
III. Thirdly, God's mirror reveals to us that God wants to share His Being; His Holy Spirit with Us. God seeks a Oneness with us humans.
Listen to these verses:
Genesis 2:7 - Genesis 2:7English Standard Version (ESV)
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
John 17:20-23 (ESV) reminds us of this oneness God wants to share with all of us:
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Each of us start our lives off with being one with God - as He breathed in us His life. Originally, we know that state of oneness was designed to continue with Him through the power and presence of His Holy Spirit. That was the life that God had designed for Adam and Eve and for all humanity.
However, we also know that the presence of sin destroyed and destroys our ability to be one with the LORD. Adam and Eve allowed sin to come into their lives and into our world and everything was changed. Sin always destroys relationships. Sin prevents us from being one with a Holy God. Sin makes us makes us enemies of God and alienated from Him (Colossians 1:21).
Nevertheless, we also know the Good News. The Good News this morning is that in Christ that oneness can be redeemed, renewed and restored. We know that in Christ this morning, we can experience what it means to be redeemed and sanctified by the power and presence of His Holy Spirit. We know that in Christ we can once again enjoy oneness with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is no greater joy in this life than to experience this oneness with God. There is no greater joy than knowing that the life that Adam and Eve first experienced in the Garden of Eden is ours to possess. We do not have to be alone in this world. We do not have to be apart from our Creator, our Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father is reaching out to us to enjoy a supernatural relationship with Him. All we have to do is to accept His salvation.
IV. Finally, this morning, God's mirror show us that God seeks to work in our lives each and every day.
One of the most beautiful passages of scripture that shares this Biblical truth with us is found in Jeremiah 18 where we find the story of the Potter's Wheel. We find Jeremiah being taught the lesson that God seeks to work in our lives much the same way a potter will work with the clay.
God will center us and loving use His hands of mercy, grace and love to fashion us into the man or woman He created us. Sin has marred our very beings but our God is greater than all sin. In His Hands God will sanctify our hearts, our minds and our lives so that we can be what later Paul will call vessels of honor ( Romans 9:21; 2 Timothy 2:20-21).
Paul reminds us over and over again that God is at work in our lives.
Philippians 2:12-15 (ESV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.
Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This morning, we can be assured of four important Biblical truths as we look into God's mirror. And from those four truths we are called to see one another as well.
1. You and I are these wonderful creations of God. We are the highest creations here on planet earth. We are therefore to treat one another as wonderful creations. Everyone you meet has been uniquely designed by God just as you have been. Treat one another as God's wonderful creation.
2. We were created out of love, to be loved and to love God. We are therefore to love everyone the best we know how knowing that God loves others as much as He loves us. We are to love one another as God has loved us. We are to surrender our lives into the lives of one another.
3. We were created to be One with God. Being one with God means that we are one with one another. We are all part of the Body of Christ. We are not just individuals, we are the Body of Christ. We need one another. We must have one another. We are not complete by ourselves but only as we come together in Christ.
4. Finally, we were created to have God continually work in our lives and in our lives each and every day. As God works in our lives, He also works in the lives of our family, friends and others. We are not finished works, we are all works in progress. Therefore we are to always be encouragers, supporters and intercessors for one another. We will allow God to be the judge. We are to be burden bearers and to be builders of one another.
This morning, as we close we do so by taking part in the Lord's Supper.
As we partake this morning -
See yourself as God sees you -
a. His highest creation, made in His very own image,
b. loved so much that He died for you - He went to a cross to die for you
c. A person that He wants to be one with through His Holy Spirit
d. A person that He wants to sanctify and fill with His Holy Spirit
But don't just see yourself that way - take a moment and think about all of your friends and your family - think of them that way.
And then think of that person who you don't like, that person you just don't want to be around - remember that they too are A, B, C and D. Take a moment and pray for them and for their family and then go out and do your best to reach out to them in God's love.
Let us come to His table.
1William Barclay in his commentary series - THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES does an excellent job in sharing some of those that had attempted through the years to reduce the 613 commandments down to one - see pages 292- 296.
