Mirror Mirror On the Wall…

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, tell me something truly amazing about myself. 

When looking in the mirrors at the fun house we are often amazed by the distorted views of those mirrors. Maybe we like that they make us taller, thinner, or shape us in all the right places. Have you ever stood in front of one of those mirrors and said, “I need one of these at home!” 

As my daughter and I were cleaning up in the kitchen, she looked into the stainless steel pot and said, “Mommy, why does my head look weird in metal?”

Just as in the funhouse mirror or the mirror mirror in the fairy tales, we want the reflection we see to be the best representation of ourselves. We want it to look like who we believe we are.  We certainly don’t want it to look “weird”. I don’t want it to point out my flaws or my facial blemishes. I certainly don’t want it to reflect me in all the wrong places. 

As we read scripture, we often have one major grief with it, it points out our most major flaw, that we are sinners. 

Not a True Reflection

Instead of holding the Bible up to a funhouse mirror, as believers, we may do several things. We may read only the parts that make us feel good or the parts that help us reflect us getting our “Best Christian” Award. We may take God’s attributes that we like and that are flattering to cover our sins, like love, grace, and mercy and capitalize on them.

Just so we don’t get a true reflection of what the Bible says, we may even go to the extent of never reading its contents. We may only rely on someone else to give us it’s translations. We may have to dust it off every time we need to carry it somewhere.

Why go to all these extents to not see who we truly are?

My husband is great at pointing out my flaws on my best days. “You are being too critical.” “Honey, don’t you think, you are being negative.” “You need to show more kindness.” “That wasn’t very loving.”

Sometimes it makes me madder than a wet hornet to hear these things. Not because he is trying to hurt me but because they are true. (Don’t tell him I said that 😉 ) I don’t always want to know that I am being ugly, but to be honest, I need it.

My goal isn't to just become good or better at things. My goal in life is to become godly and strive toward holiness. To do that requires me to lay down my sinful ways and become more like Jesus. Share on X

Sharper than a Double-Edged Sword

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

The Bible is capable of showing me more than what my husband and family can see. The Bible is able to penetrate deep into my heart. It will get down to my innermost being and divide what is holding me together, my joints and marrow and my spirit and soul. God’s Word will slice a dividing line right in the middle of them. 

The Bible is able to cut to the matter of my sin faster and sharper than anyone because God knows the attitudes of my heart that no one can see. The things I hold deep inside of me are not off limits to God. (Hebrews 4:13) Share on X

The Bible is able to divide my soul and my spirit. Meaning it can divide my personality, my human tendencies from the part that wants to do what is right. Paul says in Romans. 

For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. Romans 7:20 (BSB)

We want to do good but we are often torn and continue on doing what is evil. Our flesh is waging war against us soul. 

The Bible is able to divide my soul and spirit. Down to the deepest parts of my heart and mind, the Bible is able to get in their and work. 

Why?

Because it is alive and active. It is capable of giving me the help and restoration that I need to become more like Christ. 

Don’t Forget What You Look Like

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:22-24 (BSB)

How often do we hear or read God’s Word and walk away and walk right back into our sinful ways? James is such an encouragement to the Christian walk but he is honest, something we don’t often like to hear. 

We know what is right when we have read God’s Word.  We have sought it out for guidance and then we walk away. As we go back to our daily lives, we soon forget. We forget it’s value, purpose, and it’s assurances. We quickly forget the blessings and the promises that God lays out right before our eyes. 

We become the man who walks away from the mirror and forgets what he truly looks like. Then we forget who and whose we truly are.  

Instead of going back to it and seeing the reflection of ourselves and God’s living words, we stumble through life with no solid grounding. A forgotten reflection of our true selves becomes a hurdle to cross.

Our only Hope

God’s Word not only teaches us who we truly are but offers us the only hope and the only way to truly fix it.

As we continue in this Christmas season, may we not become numb to the reality that our busyness is only Satan's attempt to draw us away from spending time in the Word. Leaping us off the pages of truth and life into the world of… Share on X

Christ came to be a God who dwelt among His people. He left all His glory and the side of His Father to come to Earth in the lowliest place. Born among the animals and lying in their feeding place, He came with a rescue mission. 

This season is the celebration of that newborn King. It is truly about Him walking among us and showing us the hope and truth that until that point in history could only be read about.  

The greatest hope of all was born on that first Christmas. Just as he came before, He will return again. Our longing for all to be right and our longing to look in the mirror and see our best selves will be a faded memory. Because one day we will not only see ourselves as Christ sees us but we will see Him for who He truly is. 

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)

He Will Return

One day Christ will return. In that moment, we will have to have made the decision about what we believe. The Bible is clear that every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. (Philippians 2:10)

So while we celebrate this joyous occasion please don’t miss the opportunity to get to know Christ more. Open your Bible where you will see the closest reflection of who He is.  

 

Need a good place to start reading your Bible or pick it back up? Matthew and Luke – Two of the four gospels give an account of Jesus’ birth. 

**Starting Next Week, I am doing a series called Walking Among Us – Christ’s Journey on the Road. I hope you will join us on this journey as we look into Christ’s life, His interactions with the people around Him, and how that affects us today.

Also, next week I will run my blog party for 2 weeks because of Christmas Week. Please stop by so you can link up your new posts.**

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