My daughters are starting to pick up more and more of my mannerisms.
This is terrifying.
Last week, my oldest (Megan) accidentally spilled an entire glass of water all over one of her sister’s dinner plates. I was in the living room, but could hear the tell-tale sound of a drink spilling everywhere. And from the kitchen, coming out of Emma’s mouth (the one whose dinner had just been ruined), I hear *my* voice exclaiming:
“Seriously, Megan?!?! Seriously?!?!”
That’s totally me. That’s what I say. “Seriously?” is (apparently) one of my favorite retorts.
We become like what we behold.
When Catherine was pregnant with our youngest daughter, she reached the point in pregnancy when it was not so easy to stand up, or bend over, or pick things up, or really do much of anything without a good deal of effort. And so, like many very-pregnant women, she would let out a groan.
And we began to notice our little girls, then four and two-years-old, mimicking their mother’s groans. It was hilarious. And terrifying.
We pick up the mannerisms of people we study and admire. Children are constantly watching, listening, and beholding their parents, and so it’s natural that they begin to become like what (or whom) they’re beholding.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that:
…we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The Spirit opens our blinded eyes to see the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). He lifts the veil off our hearts, so that we can behold “the glory of Lord”. But why? So we can be transformed into his image.
Behold yourself? Become more like yourself. Behold the world? Become more like the word. Behold Jesus? Become more like Jesus.
When we behold Jesus, we’ll pick up more and more of his mannerisms.
Worship leaders: never tire or move beyond helping your congregation behold the glory of Jesus Christ, through the freedom-giving power of the Spirit. Jesus is not one of many things we should pointing to through our songs. He is the main thing. He is the central theme. And he is the image of God.
We become like what we behold. Behold Jesus!
Worthily Magnify 