Have you ever wondered what Satan looks like? Most Christians realize the cartoon character in red tights with pitchfork, horns and pointed tail is ridiculous. But, if that picture is not real, what does our enemy look like?
When Eve saw him in the garden he was in the form of a snake [1]. The apostle Peter described him as a hungry lion [2]. Paul said he could transform into an angel of light [3] and Isaiah referred to him as the "son of the morning." [4] Yet, the truth is we have very little knowledge about how Satan may or may not look to human eyes. The Bible gives nothing more than hints and metaphors. How Satan looks to us remains a mystery, but the Bible is very clear about how we look like to him!
If you are like me, the idea of Satan looking my direction makes me cringe. I feel exposed and vulnerable for he must know how weak I am and how often I've failed. Yet, that is not what the Bible describes at all. As amazing as it seems, when the devil looks my way he sees nothing but the blinding light of pure holiness.
Pure holiness? The idea would be blasphemous except for one detail. The righteousness that makes Satan quiver is not my own. It covers me, hides me and transforms me, but it does not originate with me. Instead, the brilliant glow of righteousness is something I "put on."
At least four times in his writing Paul instructs us to "put on" Christ Jesus [5] and his words mean exactly, literally what they say. No need to trace the phrase through the original Greek or search for hidden meanings. Although the action is spiritual, we "put on" Jesus just as though wrapping ourselves in a royal cloak, and that changes Satan's view entirely.
The concept is similar to taking a bag-lady, cleaning her up, doing a full make-over, dressing her up, and then watching her walk confident and glowing out on a stage. What a transformation! She has "put on" something that did not belong to her and by doing so she's now showing the world a new woman. When we look at her, we no longer see the bag-lady. We see designer clothes, glowing skin, artful makeup, a great hair cut and total style.
Of course, this illustration is only a pale hint of our spiritual reality. We were far worse off than any bag-lady and covered with sin. But Jesus bought us, made us part of the royal family, and wrapped us in His own robe of righteousness.
Dressed in the purity of Him, our old rags are left far behind. We step out on the stage of life confident that even thought we may look the same to our friends, in Satan's eyes, we shine.
