I was thinking about mirrors. They're all around us. Each of us spends time in front of one in the morning before we face the world...we don't want to create any shock waves as we emerge from our homes. A mirror is a perfect reflection of our face. It allows us to see ourselves the way others do. On at least the surface level it helps answer the question of "Who am I?". Imagine if you'd lived your entire life in a primitive jungle and never seen yourself in anything more reflective than a pool of water...you might wonder what you really looked like and how you compared to friends and family. Ultimately when a missionary came into your camp with a mirror and you saw yourself for the first time there would be a little bit of a shock because your expectation of your appearance would not match reality. You might not like what you saw and you might feel like a stranger to yourself! But after seeing your image for several days, you'd become comfortable with yourself.
When we draw close to the Lord it's like standing in front of a full body mirror that reflects a different image...one that goes beneath the skin and shows us our hearts. Some folks can go a lifetime and carefully avoid walking in front of that mirror. When you first see this reflection it isn't pleasant...there are dark areas of the heart that we know exist but have a hard time facing. But when we have the courage to let the Lord show us who we really are He steps in to give us the faith we need to trust Him and to replace the darkness in our heart with light.
His mirror reflects with grace rather than with light.
James 1:23-25 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
blessings,
Rob Smith
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