The Glory Mission:

When Lowliness Becomes the Light

It’s understandable how easily we get caught up in the pressure of perfection. In a world saturated with filters and curated appearances, the struggle to ignore the mirror is real. We feel that weight.

But friends, we must shift our focus. When we truly grasp the sacred assignment He gave us, saving lives and restoring the broken. The value of our outward appearance simply collapses.

The Ultimate Example: The Wounds of Christ

Even in the final, most glorious act of history—the Resurrection—we are given the ultimate lesson on scars versus perfection. Jesus Christ rose with His body healed, yet the wounds were still visible (John 20:20, 27). He could have easily come back completely restored with no visible marks, but that is not the beauty or Glory for God. That is the flesh’s desire, it wants to see perfection. God’s design, however, ensures that the ultimate sign of victory is the eternal proof of the sacrifice. The scars are the testimony of redemption.This is the very essence of why we must value our own journey markers.

The True Measure: Heart Over Image

We have all witnessed this truth: the most outwardly flawless people can be the most flawed in spirit, while the most outwardly undesirable individuals can become the genuine light and salt of this world.

This is a powerful lesson in discernment, rooted in God’s own perspective:

“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’” — 1 Samuel 16:7

I know I am not the pretty one, nor the beautiful one. And I recognize that this very lowliness is a gift. It allows the Light in me to shine without distraction, leaving people confused and wanting to know more about Jesus Christ the Redeemer.

The Difference Between Trial and Vanity

Being the lowly vessel forced me into radical surrender. I was a child facing life and death on the streets. I was homeless, dirty, unkempt. I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about vanity or what anyone thought of me. Mines was a walk of life and death.

This is the hard truth many need to understand.

A lot of you believe you have suffered and survived, yet you confuse self-inflicted struggles with the stripping away of the flesh. You want to wear a hardship as a badge of honor, but that is often just the pride of self finding a new costume. True brokenness, the kind that forces you to rely completely on God, leaves no room for vanity.

Theological Principle: The assignment is to shine His light, not our own. The vessel—our body—is meant to be weak, ugly, and temporary, like a jar of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7). Why? So that the power we display is recognized immediately as God’s, not ours.

Embracing the Purpose-Built Vessel

If our purpose is so profound, we must choose to spend this body on the mission.

Every broken tooth, scar, and wrinkle is simply evidence of survival. You are blessed to not look like the pain you have been through, yet you still look the way He designed you to be, perfectly equipped for the work ahead. We must choose to love ourselves and love the body He gave us, complete with its markers.

The Bible is full of powerful reminders that God uses the overlooked:

God chose the foolish and the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Paul was taught that God’s power is “made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

When you look at a fellow warrior out there on the front lines, remember this essential teaching:

If your eye is distracted by their brokenness, their scars, or their lack of worldly polish, know that you are looking at the wrong things.

Look past the temporary flesh and see the eternal light demanding action. Look at the lives being rescued. Look at the brokenness being restored.

Let’s trade the mirror for the ministry. Our purpose is simply too profound to be superficial.

Reflection Question:

What is the one aspect of your outward appearance or personal history that you currently hide or worry about, and how can you choose to use it, instead, as a display of God’s perfect, undeniable strength?