Reflections Of

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

1 Corinthians 13:12

 

Mirrors are remarkable items because they always show us the truth.  Look in the mirror first thing in the morning and you may be a bit frightened by what you see looking back.  In ancient times, mirrors were thought to reflect the soul rather than the appearance. Over time, a mirror can become stained, dirty and dull.  Then the reflection becomes distorted.  

 

As Christians, we are to reflect Christ to the world.  However, being that we are sinful human beings, our sinfulness can distort that reflection at times. However, just because the mirror is dirty doesn't change the fact that it is still a mirror!  Our sin does not change the fact that we are still Christ's.

 

A mirror can be cleaned and made clear again, and so can we when we seek God's forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ.  

Restoration?

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. 

In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!

Job 42:10 

 

I like to see pictures of how a rested and neglected automobile is given new life with a restoration, and many restorations make the car more valuable than it was originally.  

 

Have you ever felt your life needed a restoration?  Perhaps you feel like a rusting hulk of metal and dirt and a quick wash just doesn't do the trick.  Hmmm......consider Job.  God allowed everything to be taken from him, leaving him a rotten shell of his former self.  Job prayed over and over for God to hear his case.  Before you think God isn't fair...He is always fair just, perhaps, not in our sense of fairness.  

 

But after enduring his crumbling life for as long as God planned, God restored to Job his fortunes and even gave him twice as much!  

 

I get to talk to people who feel their lives are just a boatload of failures and missteps.  Every day when I look in the mirror, I see a face that has over 54 years of screwing life up.   Yet God has never left me even though I walked away from Him for many years.  He never forgot me.  AND He will never leave you or forget you.  

 

"So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you." - 1 Peter 5:6-7

 

Clean Like New!

Create for me a clean heart, O God!
Renew a resolute spirit within me!

Psalm 51:10

 

I have probably told you before, but sit right back and you're going to hear it again.  In 2005, I began feeling very sluggish and became easily tired.  Finally, I went to the doctor to get a physical.  During the stress test, my left arm went numb.  The doctor stopped the test and told me "You aren't going home."  And within 48 hours, I had quadruple bypass surgery at the ripe old age of 43.  I admit, I did NOT enjoy the recovery process, especially when the incision (which went from chest to belly) began to itch on the inside.  Not just a slight itch like a bug bite....oh NO!  It was that itch like you're wearing a cheap wool sweater against your skin and you cannot scratch it!

 

The itch listed for a few weeks and I was told that I needed to start getting out to exercise a bit more than walking to the mailbox and back.  So I began to toddle off determined to make it to the end of the street.  And I felt AMAZING!  In fact, I felt SO amazing that I kept right on going until I had walked the entire block.  It was as if the doctor ad put a brand new heart in me.  

 

When I went back to the cardiologist for a check up, he told me that bypasses were helping the blood flow more freely and that was why it felt so much better.  He said the blood was flowing through clean arteries for the first time in a long time.  

 

This, like so many other experiences, got filed away to use later.  Well, welcome to later! When you look at a dirty window, the light can still get in and you can still see out (for the most part), but you see things from a dirty and jaded perspective, just like the blood that flowed through my clogged arteries.  But when the window is cleaned, the perspective changes!  It's like seeing the sight for the first time!  And my heart thought the new arteries were amazing because the blood could flow without being sluggish or jaded.

 

As you prepare for the beginning of a brand new year, begin it with a brand new, clear, clean heart! Ask God to give you one, He's good at it and is always willing!