Mia Kulpa peered into her mirror and made a gruesome discovery. “Ahhh—wrinkles! That’s it, Mirror—you’re a piece of worthless junk. You’re toast!” She wrenched it off of the wall, and took it outside to the trash. “I need a mirror that works!” After thinking, briefly, she got into her car and sped to the $1 store.
“Mirrors…mirrors…,” she muttered, hunting the aisles. “Here they are—on the wall!” Mia spent a half-hour trying them out—small yellow ones, larger pink ones with handles, even a shiny black one that lit up when you opened it. “None of these work, either. They all tell me that I have wrinkles. I must go to Costmore—maybe an expensive one will give me a smooth face.”
At Costmore, she found May Balleen, a salesperson at the counter.
“I’m looking for an expensive mirror –one that helps me look great,” Mia told May.
“Well,” said May, unlocking the cabinet below and pulling out a large, shiny mirror, “Look at this-- it’s our best one. This button lights it. The other side magnifies your face, and these fake zirconium crystals make it really cool and sparkly. Try it.”
Mia tried it, and yelled loudly, “It still says I have wrinkles, but now they’re even larger and brighter and sparklier! What’s wrong with these mirrors?”
“Well,” said May Balleen, “Maybe it’s your face.”
“What do you mean—what’s wrong with my face?” Mia demanded.
“Did you ever think that maybe all the mirrors are right? You just need to change what you’re doing to your face,” May replied.
As much as Mia didn’t want to believe it, deep inside she knew what May said was right. Mia didn’t need a new mirror; she just needed to use the one she had. Back at home, she replaced the original. “OK,” she said, “Tell me what I need to know.”
Most of us are aware of our many needs, issues, faults—whatever name you give them. But when the Lord holds up the mirror of His Word and we see something not quite right with ourselves, how do we react? Surely that’s not me, Lord, is it? Nah—couldn’t be. Well, I’m not going to be reading those verses again any time soon…too discouraging to think about. It actually changes the image I have of myself--not a good thing. I’ll go find someone who will tell me what I want to hear. It’s like junk food for my soul—and boy, do I need junk food; it makes me feel good now (though pretty lousy later on). I’ll ask, “Please tell me I’m doing all right in this area? Tell me I: …am not a prideful person…always think before I speak...just gave the right advice to my child…” I’ll avoid my friends who speak truthfully—it hurts too much to hear what I know is right.
The Lord longs for us stoop down for a close, intent look into the mirror of His Word and respond to it. When we fail to see what He has for us, He may use a godly friend to get our attention. That friend loves us enough to risk hurting or offending us in their rebuke. Though we are helped in the process, it may take some time before we can actually thank them. We can’t forget, however, to thank our best Friend, Who continues to patiently draw us to Himself until we are a reflection of Him.
Prov. 27:5
Lev. 19:17
James 1:23-25
