Beholding and Reflecting

I am honored that Bro. David Chong from Kuching, East Malaysia, is able to contribute an article in my blog. I got to know him during my stay in Australia 10 years ago. A lawyer by training. He used to attend the weekly Friday cell meeting at my Melbourne city apartment. He is now a happily married and God fearing man with two lovely children. Thank you David.


by David Chong


2 Cor. 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.
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Have you ever wondered why teenage boys like to ride motorcycles or drive souped-up cars at breakneck speeds? Or why teenagers experiment with drugs, smoking and drinking copious amounts of alcohol?

Brother David Vinson from Texas, USA pondered these questions a lot. A medical doctor by profession, he spent countless hours in emergency rooms trying to save the lives of teenage American kids who had either overdosed on drugs like cocaine or were involved in accidents due to DUI or just plain reckless foolishness. He has concluded from his observations over the years that there are certain laws operating which explains these behaviours. He shared his observations with us during a conference in Kuching last year and it goes something like this:

1. You reflect what you behold.
When you behold something long enough, you will reflect it. Why do some people have weird hairstyles, ghastly tattoos or pierce their body parts with metal objects? That's because they hang around with people with similar hairstyles, tattoos or body-piercings. 1 Cor. 15:33 cautions us not to be deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. You will reflect what you behold.

2. You behold what you love.
You will only behold something/someone that you love. Sadly, for most teenagers today, be it in the US or in Malaysia, what they love more than anything else are their friends or acceptance by their friends. They place this social acceptance above the teachings of the Bible or their parents. In the end, they only behold their friends or the opinions of their friends for that is what they love above all things.

3. You love what you set your heart upon.
Now we get to the crux of the matter, which is your heart. You will love what you set your heart upon. So crucial is this matter of the heart that Jesus even linked it to our seeing and hearing. In Matthew 13:14-15 we see Jesus quoting Isaiah which says, "In hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive. For the heart of this people has become fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and their eyes they have closed, lest they perceive with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and they turn around, and I will heal them".

So we see that the key here is our heart. Whenever the heart turns to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. This is what we should practice day by day, moment by moment. It all boils down to the little decisions we make daily. When we wake up, do we read our Bible or the newspaper? While driving to work, do we muse on God's word or do we think of other mundane things? Liverpool vs Man U match, do we stay at home to watch the match or attend the youth meeting held at the same time? Being an overcomer means making the right decisions day by day and making these decisions depend upon what you love and set your heart upon.

4. Ultimately, you become what you love.
The pinnacle of all this is as promised in 2 Cor. 3:18, whereby if we turn our hearts to the Lord, behold and reflect Him moment by moment throughout our lives, we shall be transformed into the same image as He is. What a glorious thought this is!