Mirror Mirror on the Wall

            In the fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the wicked witch uses a mirror which speaks every time she looks in it. When she asks it (“Mirror, mirror, on the wall…”) who the most beautiful woman in the kingdom is, she is used to it telling her that she is the fairest. This continues until one day when the mirror, which cannot tell a lie, informs her that Snow White has become the fairest.

            A good mirror is honest. It tells the truth. I don’t always like it, but when I look at my mirror in the morning it does nothing to hide my flaws or cover up things that I wish were not there. Some mirrors make people look slimmer… or at least we tell ourselves so. We may be tempted to buy and use such mirrors. But really, how good is a mirror that isn’t honest? When dirty or fogged up, our mirrors aren’t very useful. Nobody I know uses a carnival mirror in their home. It’s fun in the funhouse to look at our distorted images and have a laugh. But one thing we need in a mirror is an image that is not distorted.  The passenger side view mirror on my car warns me that it doesn’t tell the truth. It tells me that objects are really closer than they appear. If I ignore the warning and believe what I see in that mirror, I could end up dead. Manufacturers and scientists trust in mirrors in telescopes and cameras and all kinds of devices. Remember when the mirrors in the Hubble telescope had to be repaired (or replaced?) because they were defective?

            Like it or not, a good mirror is true. It is honest. It does not distort what it reflects. The Word of God is like a good mirror. It tells us the truth about ourselves. It exposes our sinful attitudes and practices for what they are. It doesn’t distort our failures and deficiencies before God. It tells us the truth about our universe, our world, about human existence and humanity’s problems. If you want to understand your world or even yourself, read the Word of God. It does not lie. And, most importantly, it tells us who God is and what He has done to show His marvelous grace to us. It tells us about His true nature and being, along with His works in creation and in history. If you ever read your Bible and feel like you “don’t like” what you’re reading (or that it makes you uncomfortable), ask yourself what truth is this “mirror” reflecting, and let God’s Spirit teach you its significance and value, and what your response should be. You can rely on it.

James 1:22-25 (NIV) ²²  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³  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 ²⁴  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵  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.

Psalm 19:7-8 (NIV) ⁷  The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. ⁸  The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you that your Word is truth. When it ‘hurts”, lead me to you for healing and correction. When it instructs, help me learn. When it commands, lead me to obey. When it commends, may I glorify you. When it speaks, open my ears to listen. Thank you for all that your Word does. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Scott