A mirror is supposed to reflect backwards what actually exists, but almost always what we see is not all that is present, sometimes the image we see is not a realistic reflection of the truth……………
Last night was a long one for Bill; too little to eat, too much to drink and way too little sleep. The alarm only accentuated his pounding headache, so knocking the clock on to the floor of the hotel room seemed a fair exchange for waking him this early. Rolling out of bed, Bill walked, in not so much of a straight line, to the bathroom. What he saw in the mirror was not a pretty sight; although the mirror had been cruel to him for many years now, so he should have expected nothing less. Before washing his face Bill looked at his reflection in the mirror. The bloodshot eyes were no surprise; most mornings were met with varying shades of red surrounding black pupils. His once thick, black hair was thinning across the top and offered more grey than black. The sagging bags under his eyes were pronounced, looking like a wave of exhaustion pulling down his face. There is a crooked scar just under his right eye, a reminder of falling asleep while driving home late one night from somewhere that he should not have been. The morning beard is a staggered mixture of white and black. Why did the architect of this hotel make the mirrors so big? There was nothing here Bill wanted to see.
As Bill looked into the mirror, he wonders if he should be proud of what he saw. It has taken a lifetime of mistakes, and good choices too, to lead Bill to where he is at this morning; weary, unmotivated, questioning, and in search of…something. Quickly he washed his face, so as to avoid answering the question, because Bill really did not want to know the answer this morning.
Unknown to everyone, God was standing in the bathroom, also looking at Bill’s reflection. What He saw was completely different from what Bill saw. God saw clear eyes, bright and reflective, almost smiling. His face was smooth, and soft without the morning stubble, and evenly tanned exhibiting a healthy glow. There was no grey in his hair, or scars on Bill’s face. His expression was of peace, happiness and a clear understanding of who he is. No confusion, remorse, or sadness; no pain – only love. God saw perfection in Bill’s hotel room mirror; nothing less. God was looking at the true Bill, not the image that Bill saw, or who the world believed Bill to be, and not who Bill believed himself to be. God sees only the beauty of what He created.
The concept of God no longer seeing our sin can be difficult to grasp. We all sin; all of us screw up in some degree every day, so how is it that God doesn’t see it. The short answer is that He is God, and He chooses not to. He chooses to see the beauty the He created, not the darkness that Satan has smeared on our life. Of course, just because He chooses not to see our sin doesn’t mean He isn’t taking note of it, so do not think you have a free pass to sin. We don’t. But, we do have the opportunity to forgive ourselves for what we may do wrong, just as God has forgiven us.
When we forgive ourselves, we can get a view of who God sees in the mirror. The more we can look through God’s eyes, the less we will need to sin. The less we sin, the closer our view of the reflection in the mirror will be of who God sees. God looks at us, not with His eyes, but through His heart. We ought to look at ourselves in the same way, and then the mirror won’t be such a scary encounter in the morning.
Thanks for reading.