The mirror. A place for reflection.
A place for vanity.
A place for disappointment.
A source of identity.
We all use mirrors. Some more often than others, but at one point or another we all take a second to glance at our reflection just to see if the image is something that we are happy with presenting to the world. Men do this much less often than women, but I know I am not the only guy that will glance at a shiny window for a second to make sure everything is still in order.
The point is we care about how we look. Mainly because it is our first form of identity. Before someone knows our name, our job, our passions or our talents, they know what we look like. We care a lot about our identity. This is the single area where I get tripped up the most in my faith. It is not that I don't have confidence. I do. I have caught myself getting downright prideful in the past if I'm being honest, but that doesn't mean that I am confident in my identity. True confidence comes in knowing who we are in Christ and in the identity that He is putting on us... not what we try to shape our reflection into on our own.
Today a scripture jumped out at me that sparked this conversation.
2 Corinthians 3:18
"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."
We need to come with unveiled faces.
No masks.
No lies.
No reputations.
Just our faces unveiled and open to the presence of God.
If we could come to Him in that way, this verse says that we can be transformed into the same image as Christ Himself! Our reflection could start looking like Him.
Is Jesus ugly?
Is Jesus a mistake?
Is Jesus too fat? too thin? not strong enough? not tan enough?
Is Jesus not lovable?
No? Then neither are you! Once you get close enough to look like the Glory of Christ then you take on the identity that He has for you!
A prayer for today:
Lord, Help me to see what you see in me. Help me to trust you enough to change me into who you want me to be. Help me to allow my reflection to look like you. Take away my masks and replace it with a new identity. In your name I pray, Amen.
God bless!
Pastor Derby
