"We all with unveiled face reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord and are transformed into the same image from glory to glory. "(2 Cor. 3.18)

This is a process that must occur in all the Lord's people. It occurs in the right conditions. The Creator who made beautiful flowers can also produce beautiful characters. There are natural laws and spiritual laws and both were given by one Lawgiver.

We cannot be transformed into the likeness of the Lord by resolving to overcome sin in our bodies and minds by sheer willpower. There is nothing wrong in resolving to overcome wrong doing but that misses the vital point. If a ship stops in mid ocean it's no use those on deck pushing the masts to move it. However much pressure they used; their strength would be used in the wrong way. They need to go to the engine room and put right what is wrong. Otherwise effort is wasted. A drowning man cannot pull himself out of the water by his own hair.

We need positive displacement. When the evil in our hearts is removed it needs to be replaced by the Lord's spirit or the last condition becomes worse than the first. It may seem good to copy Christ's virtues. Many believe in Christ as the standard to be copied, but none are able to copy Him fully. If the copying is done in the power of self, it will eventually fail for we need the power from without. We may honestly set about self-examination with a code of rules. If we do we shall be like a watchmaker trying to put the parts together without a spring. The vital thing is the power of the mainspring. The removal of sin and the changing to the likeness of Christ is done through sanctification. The formula for this process is found 2 Cor. 3.18 in reflection, assimilation and influence. This text does not say that we are transforming ourselves into the same image from glory to glory. We are changed. The New Testament speaks of sanctification as something that is passive. We are changed under the influence of God's Spirit.

A barometer measures conditions and knowing these we begin to understand the weather but it does not change the weather. The barometer responds to changes in the weather. Our responsibility in the change in our heart and lives is to surrender ourselves so that God can work on our minds. We submit to His consecrating influences so that He can take out everything that would hinder the working of His Spirit. The Word of God -must be received into our prepared hearts and the whole being must be yielded as members of righteousness. We behold Christ with unveiled face in our study of the Lord's example and teaching and see the glory of God. We see the beauty of God. He displays to us the character of God, and as we set our affections on that lovely character, our love for God and His Word becomes so close to our hearts we cannot but reflect it. We are shaped and fashioned by that which we love. When two young people are in love they see something that they admire in each other. They marry and live together for fifty years sharing experiences and material blessings. In that time they begin to reflect each other's characteristics; with similarities in speech and even their very appearance becomes alike.

If we are in love with the Lord, the things He says are the things we would say. His words express the sentiments of our hearts. We take them to our hearts and reflect them. Beholding Christ, we reflect His image, and we are changed from glory to glory. The word "glory" does not really express the thought here. The Psalmist says, "The heavens declare the glory of God". They demonstrate the glory of God in His power, wisdom and the grandeur of His mind. In other words, God's glory is His character. So we, looking intently at Jesus, reflect His image and are transformed from characteristic to characteristic; then to a still better one until we are ready for our final change.

What is it we reflect? We reflect what we have gained from our environment. If we choose an environment that leads to a depraved life, we shall reflect that depravity. If we have been reading uplifting books and have been in uplifting company these too we shall reflect. Are we living in an environment of the Spirit? Do we read the Word of God? If so, they are what we shall reflect. Do we keep the company of the brethren? Then we shall reflect the spiritual effect.

These reflections are not a matter of mind or memory. The impressions we have gained are made on our very beings, so much so that a person is shaped and fashioned by the things with which he or she comes into contact. Where we cannot change our circumstances, we can use them. It will either be a matter of our circumstances using us or we using them. This is important. We may find one who goes through a trial and the result is a stronger faith in God than ever before, whilst another may pass through similar circumstances in a spirit of questioning, murmuring and complaint, producing a very different result. By accepting Christ's precepts, no matter what experiences we pass through, they will all work out for our good; whether painful or pleasant and they will affect our sanctification. We not only reflect what we receive from our environment and experience but these become part of our lives. These things are changing us into His likeness.

Finally influence. Our study of great men's works or our contact with individuals has an effect on our lives. David and Jonathan had a great influence on each other. If the influence of good people is great, they are but a shadow of the virtues of Christ. What is the influence of Christ on those who make Him their companion? Why are people their friends? Is it their attractive appearance or their large bank balance? Is it not because of their virtuous life? How much more so is it with Christ. It is His life and influence that transforms. It is the power of the Spirit of God that transforms the Christian in a way that the world cannot know or comprehend.

There are certain laws controlling the Christian. "No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born from above." We must receive life from above before we can be transformed. There are laws governing the material world, organic and inorganic. A mineral is inorganic and remains so, for it cannot by itself become the lowest form of life. A plant obeys laws of growth by which it makes its food from water, air and minerals. A plant reaches down by roots to absorb minerals and then transforms them into part of itself. The mineral has been "born from above" and entered the Kingdom above it. No human can reach the spiritual by effort or power from within, but God can take hold of us if we yield ourselves to Him, and so we can be transformed into His image. The Word of God is involved in this new beginning and continues so. Through the Word we can study God's character and through the Holy Spirit we are changed from glory to glory.