“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” Proverbs 27:19 (NLT)
Day 11: Mirror #writetogether31days
It’s funny how differently I picture myself compared to the reflection looking back at me in the mirror. I can go along thinking time has treated me well and then, I catch a glimpse of someone I’m not always prepared for. All those features that I’ve wished I could change seem magnified to catch my attention. The lines and age spots across my face are illuminated like they’re the stars of the show. And those gray roots? Together they seem almost to glow like a neon sign saying “help needed.” Sometimes, I just can’t believe my eyes and it’s hard to love what I see.
I hate to admit it, but I can cast a critical eye on what’s mirrored in the world and those around me too. My focus may be on things I think should be changed, wrinkles in character, off-colored behavior, and it affects my perception. Then there are times when I notice that more is showing than should be and others when I wonder what’s being covered up. Sometimes, I believe my eyes too much and it makes it hard to love those I see.
“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. Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (NLT)
I’m learning that it’s important to remember whether looking at myself or at others, my perspective is imperfect. Maybe yours is too. Just as if looking in a mirror, we view things now in a backward-human way, not as God beholds them. One day when “we will see everything with perfect clarity,” those things that make us feel different or that we use to divide us today will be celebrated simply as unique creations. Until then, challenging as it may be, we need to open the eyes of our hearts and let God be what others see reflected back.
“This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.” 1 John 4:10-11 (NLT)
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It doesn’t not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
