Heavenly light shines briefly on the picture´s surface.
When I catch a glimpse, I step back in awe. The picture is beautiful—all that
is pure, strong, and touched by grace! The image reminds me so much of my Savior
Jesus that it takes me several minutes to realize…it´s a picture of me. It´s a
picture of what I am destined to be, a picture of how God dreams of me, a
picture of me made new, me transformed completely by heaven´s deep atmosphere
of Love.
It is then I understand. This picture is his link to undying
hope. You see, I disappointed him today; I crushed the hopes he cherished for
his child. I trampled the faith he had in me and brought disgrace to the name I
bear. I fell short and broke his innocent trust in my potential.
I find myself before him, seeking reconciliation. I had
never considered what might run through his mind as he extends forgiveness to
me for the umpteenth time, as he prepares to place his oft-broken, fragile
heart back into my clumsy, human hands, as he floods me with love without thinking
twice. He steals a glance at the picture of what I can become while he
willingly trusts me again with his love, his heart, and his friendship (which I
have already betrayed countless times before).
I see why he clings to the picture. Without it he may have
given up long ago, he may have forgotten what he was fighting for. He is
fighting (with powerful weapons of love, grace, and forgiveness) for the day
when that picture will be a reality. Someday he will let the breeze sweep the
picture afar because I will have become what he always dreamed of and there
will be implicit trust between us, forever.
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." I John 3:2, 3
