Have you really studied
your face
in a mirror?
For some of us
that's easy to do.
For others of us
it is the hardest thing
in the world.
Some people cannot
pass a mirror by without
looking into it.
Others cannot even bear
to catch a glimpse of their reflection.
Why is that?
[PAUSE]
The relationship
that we have with mirrors
depends very much
on how we see ourselves.
For most of us,
we comb our hair,
check our teeth
check out any small blemish
and then go our way
without giving our reflection
a moment's thought.
For some of us,
our reflection is an opportunity
to admire the work
that we've put into looking good,
or even how little work
we've needed to put in
to look
drop-dead gorgeous.
Then we leave the mirror,
confident that people
will fall in love with us
because of how great we are.
For some of us,
the eyes of our reflection
stand in judgement over us,
pointing out the failure,
the decrepitude and
the ugliness that we perceive
in ourselves.
So we don't look properly,
and our reflection
remains only
a distorted image in our minds.
For some of us,
our reflection is something
that we obsess over,
try to fix, try to perfect,
gazing and inspecting that face
not tearing ourselves away
because we know that,
if we do,
we will forget that image
through the distortions
of our memories.
But that's exactly it.
Each one of us
leaves the mirror
and is left only with
some rapidly distorting image
of our own face.
While we look in the mirror,
we have a chance at
seeing the truth,
but even then,
our pre-conceived ideas
of who we are
may even distort the evidence
of our own eyes.
If we want to see the truth
then we must pursue the truth.
If we want to see ourselves
then we must seek Jesus.
The only way
to know who we are
is to return to the One Who made us
for we bear His image.
[PAUSE]
We are created
to reflect God,
whether we like
looking at ourselves
in the mirror
or whether
we despise
looking at ourselves.
However,
as St James points out,
in order to truly reflect
the face of the Word of God,
we have to live, love and behave
like the Word of God.
We are not just to be
heaters of the Word
but doers of the Word.
What we do
does affect who we are.
To neglect to do
the word of God
is to forget the image
of Him that we bear.
What we do
affects who we are
and who we are to become
in Christ.
What we do affects our salvation
because what we do
affects the person
whom God is saving.
[PAUSE]
It stands to reason
that we become who
we are meant to be
by forgetting how we see ourselves
and focus on seeing Christ
in the mirror and being
true to Him.
It means letting go
of always having
to look fabulous.
It means letting go
of hating our reflection
and daring to do
the unthinkable
and realising
that the reflection in the mirror
belongs to the Creator
and reflects Him.
If we want to remember
what we look like
then we must work
at seeing Who we look like.
Only then will we
truly show Christ to the world
in ourselves.
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