Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
10 23 2026
Are You Representing Jesus…or Reflecting Him? Part 2 of 2
Today is my birthday. And I wonder…if I could unwrap the gift I asked God for Wednesday, what would it actually look like? I try and live my life out pretty openly in my writings. I want to be transparent. I want to be real. I don’t want people to be impressed with how much I know about Jesus. I want them to wonder how they can know the Jesus they see in me. It’s called sanctification and transformation.
Can I say that Wednesday’s talk about wanting to be like Christ got me asking what the difference is between
Representing Jesus and Reflecting Jesus.
I think representing Jesus often utilizes the outward tools of the Christian faith…our intellect, our statements, and our religious discipline.
But I think reflecting Jesus should be an involuntary overflow of internal transformation, most clearly visible when we are under pressure. Two very different dynamics…aren’t they?
Can I dig a little deeper here. I love digging for answers a little beyond me…or a lot.
I think representing Him can be managed in many ways through willpower and even institutional alignment. We can memorize scripture, show up for church, even master some theological arguments. Aren’t they the duties of an ambassador? But can’t one represent a country or king well in their duty but remained unchanged in their private life…their private heart? Like too many people who profess one thing by attending church but live like they have another father during the week.
I think Reflecting him is truly different. A mirror can’t choose what it reflects. Right? It shows whatever it’s facing. But to do that…to reflect Christ mean our gaze is so fixed on him that His character has supernaturally transferred into us and onto us. It ceases to be about trying to look like Him. It is the natural consequence of being close to Him. (Isn’t that logical to you?)
So what happens when Real Life Difficult Circumstances occur?
Representation Alone ──►can elicit “A Calculated Reaction” & can crack under severe stress │
True Reflection ─────►Is a “Natural Overflow” (Like Christ’s character shining through)
Think about it:
When an Ambassador is pressed in their representation of Jesus using their own strength, severe crisis often cause fractures. Pressure, exhaustion, betrayal. How long does it take to reach the limits of a man? We may know the correct biblical response, but underneath it all, the volcano is boiling…(anger, self-defense, even panic), they leak out or explode because it was a mantle we wore, rather than Who we are.
When the mirror is pressed: You know the story of the orange. What comes out when you squeeze it? Under pressure, when a person Reflects Jesus and is squeezed by financial ruin, chronic illness, or betrayal, what spills out is what’s inside. Because they have allowed, the Holy Spirit to really dwell in them, and surrendered to the Christ-like transformation inside.
And as the Holy Spirit continues His transforming work within us, our responses begin to look more like Jesus. Forgiveness instead of retaliation, peace instead of panic, and humility instead of pride. Not because we’ve arrived, or because we never struggle, but because we’re learning to surrender more of ourselves to Him.
Can I leave you with one more analogy?
Words Vs. Presence.
Representation is what I might call…Voice – Heavy. We say the right things, defend the faith and explain the gospel. Do you think it’s possible to win an argument for Jesus using Biblical knowledge while completely failing to reflect His heart in how you treat the person your debating or arguing with? When are you tempted to just ‘look’ the part instead of truly ‘being’ different?”
I think Reflection is Sight-Heavy: Think about it. What reality do people see when they see God’s reflection in you? His patience when kept waiting? Gentleness when falsely accuses?
Or what of His love for the unlovable.
2 Cor 3:18 says clearly, we are being transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another…a process that happens from the inside out, making His character visible to a watching world.
Someone said, “To represent Him is to carry His badge;
to reflect Him is to carry His scars and His heart”.
Representation asks: “What would an ambassador say here?”
Reflection asks a different question: “Who am I becoming in the secret place so that He is seen when I am broken?”
I always hear these words. Show me the fruit. When leaving a conversation with you. What did they carry away?
Did they feel heard? Encouraged? Loved?
Or did they leave carrying the weight of your impatience, criticism, or indifference?
I believe the greatest evidence of a transformed life isn’t what we say about Jesus, but what others experience because He lives in us? I wrote something down.. “Everyone leaves something when they leave a room or a conversation.
What do you leave when you walk out of a room”.
And what if the greatest gift God could give you was never intended to remain yours?
We often talk about becoming more Christlike, but what happens when our spouse disagrees with us?
Someone interrupts our plans? A friend disappoints us?
Someone speaks harshly or treats us unfairly?
We want the character of Christ until displaying it costs us something.
“It’s easy to talk about the love of Jesus when everyone is lovable.
But what happens when loving someone requires us to die to ourselves?”
And maybe that’s where I need to look in the mirror myself. Because it’s easy to talk about the love of Jesus when everyone is lovable. But what happens when loving someone requires me to die to myself?
Paul said something that speaks to my heart today. “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on…” (Philippians 3:12). And then he tells us in verses 13–14 that he forgets what lies behind and reaches forward to what lies ahead, pressing toward the goal of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.
I love that Paul could say, I haven’t arrived yet. Neither have I. And after all these years of walking with Jesus, I am still discovering how much of me needs to become more like Him.
So perhaps the greatest birthday gift I could receive isn’t another year of life, but another year of becoming less like me and more like Jesus. Less of my pride, my impatience, my need to be right…and more of His humility, His gentleness, His love.
I don’t want to spend the years I have left merely representing a Savior I know so much about.
I want to reflect the Savior who is still changing me.
And maybe that’s my prayer today, for me and for you.
Lord, when people walk away, may they remember less of what we’ve said
and more of Who they experienced.
I’m not there yet. But by His grace, I’m pressing on. How about you?
Chris Tomin Holy Holy Holy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HC08NgsPqA&list=RD0HC08NgsPqA&start_radio=1
My prayer is that these devotionals do more than give you something to think about… that they draw you closer to Jesus Christ, deepen your love for Him, and encourage you to live out your faith.
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