Initiator or Reflector

I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. (John 8:28)

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)

Simply put, Jesus' example on earth was not one where He came to show us how to work very hard to be good enough to satisfy all of God's rules. Jesus came to show us how that humans can be reflectors of perfection, not originators of perfection. By living a life of total submission and dependence on His Father without ever resorting for a moment to self-dependence, Jesus showed us the only possible technique whereby we can be prepared to live in God's presence in heaven.

Righteousness is not meant to be achieved; righteousness for humans can only be reflected. God's glory is His righteousness, the reality of how good He is, not how well behaved He is. Jesus stated explicitly that only God is good. Therefore, if we are to be prepared to enter heaven as good our own lives must be aligned with the goodness of God to prepare us to be able to live in close proximity with Him for eternity. God is not always going to veil His glory from humanity, but His glory is deadly for anyone not in full compliance with the principles of reality which make up His universe and His character.

The solution that Jesus demonstrated for us was simple. Jesus came to win our trust in God and His goodness and He showed us that if we are willing to begin trusting Him enough to allow Him access to our hearts and minds that He can make us reflectors of His glory just as Jesus reflected the glory of His Father. This is an ongoing process noted in the second verse. As we allow God's glory to transform us and cleanse us we experience increased capacity to reflect even more glory and our mirrors glow with more light. Mirrors never work at producing light, they only reflect whatever it is they are facing. So too, we are never to try to produce righteousness, we are to spend our efforts focusing our attention and affections on the One who is already righteous.