Mirroring God and His Incredible Goodness in the Home
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. You can read more at the bottom of this page or read my full disclosure on my Affiliate Disclosure Page
God is the greatest artist of all. He has painted a beautiful picture for us to see and enjoy. One of the most beautiful pictures that God has created for us is our home. It is a place where we can be ourselves, relax and unwind from the busyness of life, share love with each other, and also learn how to live in peace with one another. So what does it look like when we are mirroring God in our homes?
Read on to learn how to reflect the love of God in your home and in your family!
Mirroring God in the Home
A home is a sacred place. It has been the center of family life since time immemorial, and it was given to us by our divine Father who created all things out of love for His children.
You may not realize this but as you look around your living room or kitchen you can see glimpses of Him because there are glimpses of you and your love for Him is reflected all throughout your home.
When you look around your home do you see Him reflected?
We have to make sure that there are no toxic relationships or negative influences present in our own lives because these things will only bring division into our home if allowed!
Even before there was sin, God created a perfect environment for families to thrive and grow.
In Genesis 1:26, God says:
“Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness;”
NASB
The Lord God took a piece of the earth and breathed into it giving it life.
Now, just as God is not limited by His creation, and fills all places, we too should fill our home with love. We need to be doers of the Word and not merely be a hearer of the Word. (James 1:22)
In 1 John 4:8 it says that “God is love” and so there should be no place in the home left devoid of Him.
Our home should also have a spirit of humility. Because God is so much bigger than we are, our home should reflect that same perspective of humility and awe of Him (Psalm 139:14).
The Holy Spirit should fill every space in our home so that the glory of the Lord is evident to everyone who enters and dwells there. The presence of God should be throughout each room as a perfect reflection of Him in us.
So a key aspect of our spiritual growth as children of God should be creating more space for God in the home.
Mirroring God in Your Family
I want to start by saying that the family’s mission is one of great importance with the parents as the lead in carrying out that mission. And the woman’s role is vital in this regard, as well as the man’s!
Mirroring God is not only the parents’ responsibility but also a privilege in which they are able and called to be vessels for what God has planned throughout history, namely His divinely mandated dominion (“let them rule.”).
This mission will eventually lead to personal happiness as well; however, the goal of gaining happiness should never be the focus. We should be about pleasing Him and not about our own happiness because happiness is merely a feeling and can change in an instant.
Joy is what we should seek and we should be seeing it in the Lord Jesus Christ through God’s Word.
The way this can be done is by being a visible expression of His reality which lives on within us all, not just for outward appearance but for inward change.
The family should exemplify how we are meant to live our day-to-day life as an example for those around you who will inevitably see your light shine through. That is what makes you a mirror of God; when God’s image is seen in you and the way you live out your life.
The mission of the family is to create their own little space in the world where God can be worshipped and reflected in the world as a whole, as well as being responsible for carrying out His divine mandate.
Focus on the Family states that :
“The Dennis family in Homeschooling High School listed their parenting priorities:
-Know God and His Word
-Develop the skills necessary to live in society
-Value relationships and treat others with kindness and respect
-Seek God’s will for direction and purpose in life”
Focus on the family
Happiness, rather than seeking it, becomes an inevitable benefit when success in their mission is found.
A Model for Joy
In the early days of Jesus’s ministry and in His mission during His time on earth, He had many families (and friends) who followed Him around on His journeys. These people often asked questions meant to figure out how they could be more like Him.
What these people learned is that following God means we allow Him to live in and through us by mirroring His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His hospitality to the world.
We are able to do this through the power of His indwelling Spirit which gives us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). This is why studying God’s Word is so vital. To have the mind of Jesus, we need to know what the Word says.
This enables us to love one another as Jesus did and as a result create unity in our own homes and in our greater sphere of influence. When there is unity, joy becomes attainable because it comes from within (Matthew 22:37-39).
When it comes to setting an example for your family, remember that God’s will, as we stated, is to be forgiving, showing grace, and being welcoming in hospitality.
This means that even if other children at school are not as kind or inviting as yours is (and perhaps act in ways that would make some families feel like they want to shelter their children from the world), you should welcome them and share your love with them in a way that is welcoming, forgiving, and displaying the love of God to them (Philippians 2:3-4).
You may be the only Bible they ever read.
We need to show the great love of Jesus to them by following the example of how He loved; perhaps through things such as inviting people into your home for dinner or spending time with people who don’t seem to be part of the “in-crowd” or aren’t exactly the people many “church people” would associate with.
There is a difference between acceptance and approval. We can show acceptance to all, like Jesus did, without approving of their behavior or way of life. Jesus didn’t turn anyone away (think of the Disciples and Apostles…not all fine, upstanding people in their pasts and likely wouldn’t be welcomed into many a church today sadly).
The church is supposed to be like a hospital for the sick, not a social club for the saved. Our families and our homes should reflect that as well.
Your family can have an important role in helping people realize who God really is.
You can help people know God through the way you love one another; however, this can be done in a way that doesn’t force-feed anyone but rather through acts of hospitality and love.
Bible Verses About Mirroring God and Reflecting His Image
Ephesians 4:24
“…and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
NASB
Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
ESV
Romans 12:2
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
NASB
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
NASB
Colossians 3:10
“…and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it—”
NASB
2 Corinthians 3:18
“And 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.”
ESV
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
NASB
2 Corinthians 4:4
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
ESV
James 1:23
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.”
ESV
1 Corinthians 6:19
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,…”
ESV
Mirroring God Sometimes Means Pruning in Our Lives
Sometimes in order for us to be hospitable, to show the love of God to others, we need to get rid of some junk in our own homes and in our own lives.
We have to allow God to penetrate those areas so that we can better reflect Him to others.
It may be some past behaviors, some judgments you’ve made about others and their lives, some unforgiveness you’ve held onto.
Allowing God to begin the pruning process in your life allows you to be a reflection of Him because you have the humility to admit that YOUR life isn’t perfect, your home isn’t perfect, your family isn’t perfect and we all just have different ways of being imperfect!
Too many times we in the Church judge others for their sins and their pasts as though we don’t have them ourselves. We walk around like, Sister Super Christian and forget that our own righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
Or we walk out on Sunday and then on Monday we act like everyone else. The Bible goes back up on the shelf until next Sunday and we forget the message we just heard.
Like Casting Crowns says in their song “Start Right Here”:
What if the church on Sunday
Was still the church on Monday too?
Casting Crowns
Mirroring God doesn’t mean we too are perfect like He is. It means we have been through the pruning process to be MADE MORE like Him and we can see the goodness in others because we see them through His eyes and not the eyes of the Church or the world.
And in your home, the pruning process teaches your children that God is working in their lives to produce fruit and to reflect Him in their lives and so that we can abide in Him and bring the love and knowledge of Him to others.
Be sure to get your FREE Gratitude Journal Pack below!
How are you mirroring God in your home? Share with us in the comments!
ESV – “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
NASB – “Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“