Look in the Right Mirror!
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. 2Corinthians 3:18
Recently, while leaving the house for work, I was dressed well and was comfortable with my looks, but on reaching my car, I looked at myself on the car windscreen and my hair looked as though it was not properly groomed. I started making some adjustments to my hair but then it dawned on me that I was making it worse, looking at the wrong mirror because my hair was actually alright and did not require any changes.
Our opening bible verse talks about the glory of God being our reflection on the mirror and the more we look, the more we become transformed. You would imagine that when you look into any mirror, you would expect to see your own reflection, but this scripture tells us who we are, which is the glory of God. The only thing it says for us to do to become that image, is to keep looking while the Holy Sprit does the inner transformation.
How often have we looked into the wrong mirrors and tried to adjust our lives to become like what we see in other people’s mirror? Typically, when we hear the word of God in Christian fellowship, or in our prayer and private bible study or devotion, we see the picture God has for us but then we go outside, and we are tempted to jettison the right image we had, for the image our challenges or even “competition” presents us with. We could become discouraged or depressed like David wrote in Psalms about seeing evil people flourish until he went into God’s presence and could see their bleak future in the right mirror. (Psalms 73)
What are those pictures God has placed in your heart on things He wants you to accomplish in life and ministry? What are you passionate about? All He says is to steady your shot! (like my good friend, Bugus would say), keep your focus on the right mirror. Don’t get distracted by other people’s mirror. Keep at your work with the right image. Then you’ll find yourself being transformed into that image that God has placed in your heart.
In your spiritual growth, its important to surround yourself with the right images. Whether it is books, movies, music, friends, or fellowship, let them be the reflection of God’s purpose for your life. No soldier surrounds himself with civilians if he wants to succeed. A good athlete will submit himself to the proper training and his/her success will be predictable. Avoid people or materials that do not inspire or motivate you to reach your goal. Actively discard thoughts of doubt and fear and learn to speak and imagine the glory ahead. In a little while, you’ll be living in the reality of your dreams.
Our discussion point this week will be:
Have you ever found yourself distracted or having a different self-image outside which is different from what you had while in your place of prayer? what measures did you take to overcome the distraction?
I’d like to hear your thoughts.
- 3 Replies
This is a constant struggle that we have to deal with on a daily basis. When we are alone with God or in prayer and worship, we see the best that is in us but as soon as we step out and begin interacting with others, the enemy would seek to distort our picture in our minds about who we are. But as the apostle stated in James 1:25;
“But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
James 1:25 NIVWe must persevere to continue to look, that’s to remember what we have seen in the mirror of God’s word. I am encouraged by this because everyday the enemy keeps bombarding our minds with images of failure and fear of the unknown. Let’s rise up be who we are called to be.
Very explicit scripture. Thanks Pst Phil for sharing. We have to look and keep on looking at God’s picture against all distractions.
Thanks for the post @michael ! A major reason that I get distracted from the perfect image of myself in “the mirror” is that I’m not consistently in the Word and in prayer, like what Philip alluded to. I think the best thing we can do to overcome the distraction is to protect our time spent studying the Bible and praying. And then outside of that dedicated time, it’s important to take responsibility for the quality of our thought life (2 Cor 10:5). Recently, I’ve felt pretty down about myself because I was feeling overwhelmed and frankly quite incapable of handling the responsibilities before me. It’s not that God or anyone else told me this directly, but I just allowed doubts and fears to creep into my mind and my emotions followed suit. Sometimes the solution is more “consecration” or time spent alone with God. But sometimes there’s just poor management of your actual day-to-day perspective, thoughts and activities, and that needs to be fixed too.
I’m reminded of the manufacturing industry where quality assurance and quality control are both essential measures in the manufacturing process. Quality assurance is the proactive means of ensuring the right process is in place to produce good products, whereas quality control is the more in-time/reactive aspect of inspecting the products as they are manufactured to make sure they’re actually good before they are sent to distribution. In our own lives, we can do our own quality assurance by being proactive about time we invest in prayer, study of the Word, relationship with other believers, etc. This helps us to keep the right mirror before us, staying focused on what God is saying, and making sure we’re using his Word to direct our motives, thoughts and actions. But we are also responsible for quality control – this looks like inspecting our thoughts and rejecting the ones that don’t align with God’s Word. It also involves confessing when our actions don’t line up with God’s Word. Or adjusting our tone or our words based on the Holy Spirit’s leading. It’s the choices we make every moment. Because we all know that we can wake up early for prayer and devotions, and within 30 minutes we’re frustrated with a spouse or a child or exploding at someone as we drive in traffic! 😅 It’s the consistent quality control that keeps us grounded in reality and connected to God throughout the day.
Log in to reply.