In October, 1839, Joseph Saxton took a cigar box and glass lens and made a very crude, early version of a camera. He aimed it at Central High School in Philadelphia, across the street from his office, and produced an image known as a daguerreotype. This process had recently been unveiled publicly in France, and his image became historically significant and it is widely considered the oldest surviving photograph in the United States.
“Words from Above” in the Bible give us many pictures of life in both the Old Testament and New Testament, but not any actual photographs. We have many depictions of Jesus in picture form dating back to early Christian art and architecture, but it took several centuries to reach a conventional standardized form for His physical appearance. Most images of Jesus have in common a number of traits which are now almost universally associated with Him. Genesis 1 tells us that God created man in His own image and after His likeness, and Jesus Himself said in John 14 that seeing Him was the same as seeing God. So, Jesus is a reflection of God, and we are a reflection of Jesus as well as a reflection of God.
What this all means is that when people take a close look at our lives and the way we behave, they should get a good picture of what Jesus is like. It’s like we are physical representations of God, which is the same as saying we are like living photographs of God and His Son Jesus. People sometimes comment when they see a photograph of someone that the photograph is good picture of that someone. That is the way it should be with the people of God, which means that people should get a good picture of God when they take a good look at our lives.
The apostle Peter tells us in I Peter 2:21 that Jesus left us an example that we should follow in His steps, and likewise we should leave examples to people that they should want to follow in our steps. This means that we should choose carefully where our steps might take us, because we do not want to lead others astray or in the wrong direction. Likewise, people also need to see in us good examples of godly living and godly qualities such as they would desire to follow. This is not only something that should be true for parents raising their children, but it should be true in all our relationships with people in all areas of our lives. Whether it be at work, in sports, in the classroom, or anywhere we go each day.
Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is welcome to attend. For information, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.
