Seeing Christ in You

First impressions are formed in as little as

100th millisecond, and first impressions

are very difficult to change. In studies it

was found that it takes 7 more

experiences with a person before someone

will even consider amending their first

impression. First impressions include

assessment of approachability,

youthfulness/attractiveness, dominance,

trustworthiness, morality, intellectual

ability, femininity/masculinity,

righteousness/lawlessness, and social

status.

However, people are generally not good

at perceiving feigned emotions or

detecting lies. Perhaps one reason we can

enjoy movies is because it is easy to

believe the actors are authentic. Our

natural tendency is to make lightening-

speed assessments of people, stick to our

opinion, even though studies show we’re

easily deceived.

There are even acting coaches who teach

people how to make good first

impressions!

Adjust your attitude. People pick up

attitude instantly.

Straighten your posture.

Smile. A smile is an invitation, a sign of

welcome.

Make eye contact.

Raise your eyebrows. Open your eyes

slightly more than normal to simulate the

“eyebrow flash” that is the universal

signal of recognition and

acknowledgement.

Shake hands. This is the quickest way to

establish rapport. Research shows it takes

an average of three hours of continuous

interaction to develop the same level of

rapport that you can get with a single

handshake.

You can see that many of us have learned

how to put our best foot forward. In fact,

we can give an impression of ourselves

that we cannot live up to.

Social Psychology has been studying the

validity of first impressions for 20 years

and have consistently come up with the

same results: First impressions about

extroverts/introverts are almost always

correct. However, first impressions of

other traits, like agreeableness

conscientiousness, emotional stability,

and intellectual ability are not statistically

accurate based on first impressions.

In fact, research shows that after forming

our first impression, we will ignore

information that contradicts our first

impression and magnify information that

confirms our first impression.

In 2 Cor Paul addresses this tendency to

size others up and lets us know we get it

wrong every time, concluding “we don’t

evaluate people by what they have or how

they look.” Paul reminds us that once we

evaluated the Messiah that way and got it

all wrong. Paul goes on to tell us how to

get our natural evaluations about himself

adjusted so we can see like God sees him.

Paul did not want to be sized up by his

rather impressive Jewish resume, or even

by his rather impressive trials and

victories as a Christian. He wasn’t

looking for acceptance or favor or

exaltation or trying to make a good first

impression. In addressing these issues,

Paul says:

2 Corinthians, “Does it sound like we’re

patting ourselves on the back, insisting on

our credentials, asserting our authority?

Well, we’re not. Neither do we need

letters of endorsement, either to you or

from you.” Paul commends the Galatians

for not scorning him based on his physical

appearance and speaking ability.

Paul’s credentials were being able to

see Christ formed in other people and

bringing God’s glory in them out in the

open. This is how he expresses it:

“You yourselves are all the endorsement

we need. Your very lives are a letter that

anyone can read by just looking at you.

Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but

with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into

stone, but carved into human lives—and

we publish it.”

Paul was saying that personal glory was

not what motivated him. What motivated

him was seeing people experience Christ;

and when God’s living spirit inhabits the

human heart Christ is revealed through

them. Seeing Christ revealed through our

lives brings glory to God. That is what

Paul was after. He published what God

had done in their lives.

Sometimes we don’t even know Christ-in-

us is showing until someone like Paul has

spiritual eyes to see and publish it. We

need eyes to see Christ-in-each other and

in ourselves. What are we looking for?

Galatians 5, “But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, longsuffering,

gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,

temperance.”

Paul tells us to look inside to see Jesus,

not on outward impressions. “Now we

look inside, and what we see is that

anyone united with the Messiah gets a

fresh start, is created new. The old life is

gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!”

We need to let go of our first impressions

and see instead that whoever we thought

the other person was….that life is gone.

Put on spiritual glasses to see a new life

emerge. Look at it, Paul urges us! Decide

what we will see and expect the evidence

to follow. Publish it!

Does it depend on getting evidence first?

Paul says the only evidence we need is

Jesus’ death and resurrection. “All this

comes from the God who settled the

relationship between us and him.” Paul

reminds us in Romans: “He presented

himself for this sacrificial death when we

were far too weak and rebellious to do

anything to get ourselves ready. God put

his love on the line for us by offering his

Son in sacrificial death while we were of

no use whatever to him. He didn’t, and

doesn’t, wait for us to get ready.”

Now this is an important point. God gave

us a fresh start BEFORE any of us had

qualified or before any action on our part.

This is still true. Our old life is passed

away….symbolized in baptism, and we

are resurrected into New

life….symbolized by coming up out of

the water of baptism. We don’t need to

make an assessment of what old life is

still clinging to us. We just had a decent

burial!

So, what shall we do with first

impressions? First, know that we will get

it wrong every time. Instead, look for

Christ. Gather only that evidence because

their other life is gone and a new life is

emerging. Can’t see the emerging seed of

life yet? Don’t walk away disappointed.

Even when a new plant emerges it often is

covered by the old dead seed. Celebrate

what Christ has done. As far as Jesus is

concerned it is finished, not by flesh and

blood effort but by His spirit. This ability

to look on the inside and see Christ, then

publish that impression is what Paul says

are his credentials.

Father, enable us to read the hand written

letters written by You on each heart. Help

us publish this good news. Give us eyes

of faith to see Your finished work in

divine humanity. In Jesus’ name. Amen.