Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Imagine you have been instructed to enter an unknown room and report back the details of what you saw in a mirror. As you enter the room, you are immediately surrounded by a dark grayness. The light is so very weak, you almost feel like you are suffocating. You do, however, notice that on the far wall there is a mirror.

You approach slowly because it is difficult to maneuver your way around the room because it is so dark. You make your way to the mirror and stand before it. Your reflection seems distorted and blurry. You can see a semblance of features, but the dimness has almost altered your true appearance. No matter how long you stare at your reflection, it is no use. In fact, the longer you stare at your reflection, the more distorted it becomes. There is simply not enough light in the room to get a true picture. You get frustrated and make you way back out of the room.
When asked what details you saw in the mirror, you hesitate because you weren’t able to see anything specific. You react in one of three ways:

1. You lie. You fear that others must have been able to see clearly, and because you must not have given it enough effort, you failed. You lie because you are afraid and because you are insecure. You leave the experience feeling ashamed. You never want to return.

2. You get angry. How could anyone expect you to see anything in that dim room. You did your best. “They” should have provided more light for you so that you could have been successful. It wasn’t your fault. Someone else was to blame. You leave feeling self-righteous and hurt. You never want to return.

Or 3. You are honest. You explain exactly what happened and how you felt. You ask how it could have gone better and honestly desire an answer. You spend time communing with the One who has asked this of you and end up understanding and feeling loved. You can’t wait to enter the room again knowing that, this time, there will be more than enough light to see.

To seek out the truth about ourselves, we need to seek out the Truth.

Father of Light, open my eyes to Your Truth. Let the standard of Your Word be the mirror through which I see myself reflected.

Check out: James 1:22-25