I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer. If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change.
~ Man In The Mirror, Michael Jackson
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Mirror (noun): a reflecting surface usually made of glass with a silvery back, used for viewing oneself.
Mirror (verb): to be or give a faithful representation, image or idea of.
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There are 3 types of mirrors in my bathroom. The first is a tabletop mirror that has two sides. One side shows my face in its actual size. The other side is magnified to about 2x the normal size. The third is a HUGE 6'x6' wall mirror. I hate that one. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The first mirror is good for putting on lipstick or using it with the big mirror to check out the back of my hair. The magnified mirror is pretty bad. It shows every blemish, freckle and pore and my gray hair always looks much grayer on that side. I only use it when I put on mascara.
But that wall mirror....oh God. It shows everything. I'm shaking my head right now just thinking about that mirror. Every pound, every droop, every wrinkle, every thigh and all my behind. I HATE THAT MIRROR! I can't hide anything from myself in that mirror. It shows me just who I am.
I have often complained to God about other people's behavior. I have ranted and raved about this person's bad attitude, her smart mouth, his anger and resentment. I wondered why this one treated me so poorly and why that one talked about me. I wanted God to do something about them. Make them stop! And then one day God held a mirror to my face and showed me me. It wasn't a small hand-held mirror either. It was a 12'x12' double-wide-triple-long-super-deep-space-reflecting mirror. I couldn't hide a thing.
He says to me, "what about you? Are you loving the person with the bad attitude? Are you speaking life to the one with the smart mouth? Are you walking in forgiveness towards the one full of anger and resentment? Are you praying for the one who treats you poorly? Are you acting godly to the one who talks about you? Perhaps, it needs to begin with you..."
O.U.C.H.
And I was speechless. A rare occurence, for those of you who know me. "I, I, I, but, but, but..."
But nothing. It all begins with me. How can I expect to be forgiven unless I first forgive? How can I forget my own past, while I'm all the time reminding other's of theirs? How can I beg to be loved if I am so full of hate? How can I profess God's greatness on Sunday while acting like a devil Monday through Saturday?
"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man" Proverbs 27:19
What would you see if you looked in the mirror? If you looked yourself deeply in eyes, what images would reflect back at you? What's in your heart?
It's a bold and scary thing to do, but ask God to show you to yourself. He will teach you so much about you. Some of it will be suprising, especially the good stuff that He'll show you.
Show me, me!
In love,
Mona
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