Reflections

One of the greatest ‘tools’ ever devised by man, in my opinion, was not necessarily the wheel, the lever or even fire, but something we each look into at least once a day---the mirror.  This device is nothing more than a piece of glass coated with some smooth ‘shiny’ compound, with the most common today being a layering of tin oxide, silver (or aluminum) and copper, which is then coated with paint.  The result is a near-perfect reflection of the light waves of whatever ‘object’ is in front of it.

The Fayetteville Church devo for today, the day after we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, is titled "Remember The Cross", but is just the first of this week’s lessons designed to help us concentrate on Remembrance and Reflection.  We are challenged (again) to slow down and reflect upon things in our past.  I think the best place to start looking at things, and reflecting upon them, is The Bible.  So, why not start there?  A simple word search for ‘mirror’ reflects only a few passages, but one that stands out in this context is 1st Corinthians 13:12, which says, "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."  

Of course this verse is intermingled with ‘the love passages’ of the Bible known the world around ("love is....") and causes many to reflect upon their past lives of sin, the love of Jesus, our Savior dying on the cross, and what WE need to do to repay HIm for all He has done for us.

When I look into a mirror (and I have been doing so a lot lately as I am desperately attempting to lose weight), I see a miracle.  I see a man of almost 62 who once lived a life so full of sin that many things in his life were ruined forever.  Alcohol has probably played a big part in my ever-increasing loss of memory (I remember so little of so much of my life as those billions of brain cells were so constantly being killed by alcohol). As I gaze into the silver coated plate glass, I see an ugly past, yet I also view a newborn miracle of God.  

I learned about Jesus dying on a cross from reading the Bible and several versions of ‘the Passion of Christ’, which cover the unfair trial, the mocking, the spitting, the beating and the horrific pain and ultimate death of my Savior high upon a hill.  I reflect upon that event a lot in my now-changed life, and often cry when I do.  It is something I never want to forget, even though it was such a barbaric act to do to anyone, let alone the Son of God.  So, I continue to read about it, but not only to remember that event, but to recall the steps I put in my life in 1996 to change.  I sin less, I sin less often.  I try to do what one of the four blood (half-)brothers of Jesus (can you name them?), specifically James, wrote to anyone who reads the Bible and wants to become (and remain) a true miracle of God.  In his book, chapter 1, verses 22 and 24, James wrote: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

I want to both forget what my past looked like, and remember it at the same time. I want to put the ugliness out of my mind, yet resurface it occasionally to reflect upon where my life was headed before I finally found, accepted, and loved Jesus.

The next time you look into a mirror, I ask you to pause, reflect and remember both YOUR (ugly) past and the fact that, as a Disciple of Jesus, you are also a true miracle from God.