Exodus 14:11-13-And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” 13 But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them,

In a day and age where protecting one’s image above everything else runs rampant in our society.  It is rare to see people focus on someone else’s image more than their own.  The idea of preserving ourselves over any and everything maybe the greatest struggle we have, especially when the Bible calls us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily, and follow Jesus…(Luke 9:23)

That statement from Jesus seems very self defeating, and it is.  Especially if we deny ourselves to the point someone is made to look better than us, or gains an advantage over us.  But Jesus is addressing that when we preserve our image, the less people have the chance to see who is greater than us, and needs to be seen through us, which is Christ!

This is the spirit Moses operated in when God was going to destroy the unbelieving Israelites.  Moses pleaded to God not to strike them down, because His image would be marred in the eyes of the Egyptians.  Moses cared so much about God’s image, that he would bear the suffering of these complaining people, if it meant God’s glory would stay intact in others eyes …
The essence of the Christian life is to live, and even suffer at the expense of preserving God’s image in Christ Jesus.  Immediately that makes me wince, and grieved at how hard it is at times to disregard my own image for the sake of Christ and His glory.  But the call to us as believers is to combat the spirit of the age, that lives to promote itself over any and everyone we come in contact with.  When we live in the spirit of Christ, who suffered all things for God’s glory, we realize it comes down to trust and faith, that God’s image is worth preserving over our own.
In His Love, Ld