The Sideways Lens - Chapter 6 - Capturing a Christ-Like Reflection

Chapter 6 – Capturing a Christ-Like Reflection

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

 

 

A very good pastor friend of mine once told me that he felt God wanted us to post this verse on the wall by where Sheldon sleeps, and every night we should say it and add to the end, "Sheldon is healed in the name of Jesus for the Glory of God." Both of these are posted to the wall over his bed. Has Sheldon been completely healed? No, but that doesn't mean that God hasn't been healing him! Each day I see new skills, I hear new words, and I know that God has His hand on my beautiful little man! Each day He’s building a stronger reflection of His love in Sheldon’s little life.

But The Fire is Hot!

“I will bring [them] through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” (Zechariah 13:9)

 When I was a child, my family took a trip to a park that was set up to display what life was like 100-150 years ago. Costumed people would show you how they used to weave their own material, use animals to plow and plant farmland, and use animal fat to make candles. There was one “shop” that interested me the most though, and that was the one operated by the “silversmith”. We spent quite some time in his little shop. When we first got there he was pounding horseshoes, but he told us if we would wait around for a little while longer, the fire would be hot enough to make some silver bullets.

He took a dirty lump of metal that looked like a clump of dirt and used a big pair of metal tongs to hold it in a container over the raging fire. The man was dripping in sweat, and the container was so hot it looked reddish-orange. The man explained that even though the metal looked dirty, putting it over the fire would burn off all the impurities that it has in it. He held the metal over the fire for quite some time. Dad asked him how long he had to keep the metal over the fire. The man smiled and replied, “Until I can see my reflection in it.

I’ve kept that memory with me throughout twenty or so years of my life, but it wasn’t until our lives were really “in the fire”, that I realized the impact of the man’s statement. There are times in life that we must endure unpleasant or painful situations in order to burn off the unwanted things in our lives. It’s through those moments in the fire that God blesses us with purity.

You see, if there is a hurt that we need to endure a little longer to give us an experience that we don't yet know we need for the next step in His will, God loves us enough to allow us to feel that. He loves us so much that He will never give us more than we can handle, and the trials we endure today are actually blessings that will make our tomorrows that much easier. The final product will be a picture that boasts a true reflection of God in our lives.

The Fire Is Not the End

After the man had a molten pool of metal, he poured it into the bullet molds made from brick, and set the molds aside. He had some molds that he’d previously poured and cooled in ice water in the shop with him.  He took the bullets out of those molds and held them up for us to see.

Being the observant and somewhat smart-lipped little girl that I was, I remember looking at the man and stating, “Those aren’t done, yet. You can’t see your reflection in them.” I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks as the man gave me a good, hearty laugh and turned away to walk across the shop. He returned with a brush and spent a few moments rubbing the brush on a bullet. I’m sure my eyes were as big as quarters when he turned the brushed bullet to me and held it close to my face. Sure enough, I could see my reflection.

“Even the most perfect bullet sometimes needs a little work to make it look good,” he said as he began making us rings out of nails.

You see, even when we are pulled from the fire, we are still a work in progress. Like the bullet, we will still need some polishing from time to time to allow God’s love to truly shine in our lives. The fire is not the end of our journey. It’s just a necessary step towards creating the final product!

Time to De-Clutter

At least 20 times a day we hear something hit the floor in our house. If Sheldon is watching a movie, his focus is so intent on the movie that he forgets he’s holding the remote and lets go of it. Despite our best efforts to cover the kitchen floor with towels, it’s inevitable that he will become so focused on watching the bubbles spout forth from the bubble blower that he’ll slip and fall on the floor. He is a young man of singular purpose, and he doesn’t notice the stumbling blocks that are in his way.

While I’m certain that his ability to concentrate so deeply on only one thing has been the cause of much pain to my sweet little guy, I also began to think of what a blessing it must be to have such perseverance. Sheldon doesn’t focus on the things that could cause him to fall. Instead, he focuses on accomplishing the task at hand.

My house is by no means a clean cottage, but we do make a point to keep all of the main pathways through the house clear, to prevent as many accidents as possible. I began thinking that my life would also benefit from a little cleaning. Perhaps the removal of all the excess baggage and stress would make my life easier.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

        De-cluttering begins with taking the burdens from our own lives, surrendering everything to God, and replacing it with His yoke of love. In order for us to truly be able to trust God, we have to let go of all of the things in our lives we are trying to control, whether they are our finances, families, jobs, or even our identities. Real trust is blindly placing yourself in the care of another.

Jesus uses this analogy of animals to illustrate the need for total submission to God. Animals that were yoked together were dependent upon each other for every move that they made. If an animal tried to veer away from its partner and bear the load itself, that animal would find himself quickly drawn back onto the correct path by its mate. Our relationships with God should be partnerships in which we totally entrust everything to God, and in return, He’ll draw us quickly back onto the correct path when we veer away.

Once we are yoked with Jesus, it then becomes vital that we entrust him with all aspects of our lives. This means that we should not only trust Him with our praises and moments of rejoicing, but that we should also trust Him to fight the battles we face each day for us.

Trust Him

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. (Genesis 22:10-13)

        As children, parents, grandparents, and spouses we often feel that we are the only person who is qualified to take care of our family members. We are certain that no one knows what our family members need most to live a thriving life as well as we do. We are often reluctant to give anyone else the power to care for those whom we’ve been blessed to love and care for.

In these verses, Abraham was willing to sacrifice to God his beloved son, the answer to God’s promise to make him the father of many nations. Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born, yet his faith in God’s supreme will was so strong that he was willing to sacrifice his beloved blessing to the One who had given it to him. Since Abraham gave God full control of his life as well as his son‘s, God was in a place to provide for Isaac. In God’s grace, he offered a ram to substitute as Isaac’s sacrifice.  I’ll admit that I’m a control freak. I like to be in charge of every aspect of my life. I’m particular about who I will allow to provide care for Sheldon. I feel the weight of our family’s struggles squarely upon my shoulder, because I am the one who chose the steps that we took to get to where we are today. I wanted to do it all on my own.

Sheldon’s approach to life is very different from mine. He doesn’t like new situations, and he will examine something new from every different angle before committing to try it. He’ll often seek out an adult to find out if something is good or is okay for him to touch or eat. When something bothers him, he won’t just “melt down” on the spot. He comes directly to us and melts down. He knows who to trust, and he relies on us to help him navigate this foreign world he lives in.

When I look at how Sheldon blindly trusts those who care for him, I feel ashamed that I have not given God the same blind trust Sheldon gives me. I could give God all the burdens I wanted to, but until I trusted Him to fight my battles for me, I knew I would end up picking those burdens back up again. Trust was the key to keeping my de-cluttered heart clean. 

What Would Jesus Do?

        One of the most difficult aspects of raising a child with Autism is helping them learn to deal with unpleasant events in a constructive way. When something bothers Sheldon, he will hit, scream, bang his head, stomp, and do anything else he can think of to display his discomfort in the situation. He doesn’t have the skills to navigate through painful situations any other way.

This is difficult when as a parent; I don’t always deal with things in a constructive manner, either. I began to really notice that my reactions to things had a big impact on how Sheldon handled things. If I get upset and cry during a certain situation (Sheldon can’t stand crying), it was certain to ignite a full-force meltdown. If I calmly redirect his attention elsewhere, the likelihood of a meltdown is greatly reduced.

I began to realize the importance of behaving how Christ would behave. My life needed to be a reflection of His, because a little man who observed everything around him with exacting detail was watching every move I made.

Just as Sheldon watches every move I make, there are people in your lives that watch each and every thing you do each day. As Christians, we may be the only Jesus that those around us ever see. That makes it vitally important that we present a true, accurate reflection of Christ in our daily conduct. All of the fires and refinement are worth it, if even one person can see Christ’s reflection in us.