He Is The Exact Representation Of My Being
April 12
Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
My son was six months old when we adopted him. He had the biggest blue eyes and chubbiest cheeks of any six-month old baby. People often commented about how big his eyes were and told me that the eyes “are the window to the soul.” I loved holding my son and looking into his big blue eyes as they stared back at me. Such fond memories of that time. For several years, people (whether they knew he was adopted or not) would often comment how much he looked like me. They just couldn’t “get over how much my son looked like me.” When people said that, I internally verbalized that it was a God-thing. It didn’t matter to me at all whether my son looked like me or not. I loved him regardless. I really didn’t see “how much my son looked like me.” His big blue eyes were far from my hazel green eyes, and his light hair and fair-complected skin was nowhere near my black hair and darker skin tone. Still, I found joy in those words.
As my son grew, fewer people said that he looked like me. Once he entered junior high, I didn’t hear that comment at all. He became his own person and took on physical qualities that were different from mine - making him uniquely him. While he grew and looked physically different from me, he acquired many of my habits, mannerisms, and way of saying things. (I wish I could say he only picked up my good qualities.) As an elementary student, he would try to mimic the way I walked. He would watch me intently doing something and then tried to duplicate that. In the kitchen, my son helped cook meals. He especially loved it when something had to be chopped! He would watch and then replicate what I was doing. I have several memories of him saying phrases that I said. Whether I realized it or not, my son paid close attention to me and often did many of the things I did. In this way, he represented many things that I did. My biggest joy is seeing him seek God and God’s will for his life. I am grateful to have played a role in this.
In the verse today, we see that Jesus is the radiance - the shining reflection - of the glory of God. All the attributes of God are found in Jesus. Jesus radiates all of these attributes: God’s love, God’s justice, God’s mercy, God’s goodness, and God’s power are found in Jesus. Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature. Yet, in all of His radiance, in His exact representation of God’s being, Jesus humbled himself and became a servant. He became obedient to death - even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). When I spend time in prayer, read the Bible, commune with other believers, and meditate on who Jesus is, I also learn more about God because Jesus is the exact representation. My prayer today: Jesus, I delight in you because you are the radiance of God’s glory, God’s beauty, God’s power, and God’s majesty. There is no one like you, and I praise you for how wonderful and awesome you are. Help me to be more like you. Amen.