Mirror, Mirror,...

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"  We all recognize these famous words as a line from the story of Snow White.  The wicked evil queen had a magic mirror which always answered the same for the wicked woman until Snow White appeared on the scene.  Unfortunately, none of us have a magical mirror that lies about how we look.  I sometimes wish I had one.  Whenever I look in the mirror these days, I wonder what happened to that lean and trim young guy with the head full of dark hair and unwrinkled skin.  I keep expecting him to show up when I look into the mirror, but my mirror speaks no lies.  Sometimes I think it might laugh at my surprise!

 

The Invitation to Observe a Holy Lent calls us to self-examination.  When it comes to such moments, most of us would like a magic mirror.  But, then, maybe we really do not need one.  We have a tendency to see ourselves as we want to see ourselves and not as other see us.  Certainly, we do not always see ourselves as God sees us.  Others may be judgmental, but we are just being honest.  Some have bad habits that are out of control, but we do the same while being in control.  We eat and drink and sin responsibly.  Such an attitude makes any attempts at self-examination an exercise in futility. 

 

Maybe we need a new mirror.  Maybe we need one that can be trusted.  Maybe we need one that is independent of anything that has to do with us.  One mirror that will give us an honest picture of ourselves is the Word of God as it is found in Scripture.  When we go to it looking for what it says about folks like me and you, we are likely to find some descriptive words we would rather ignore.  Words like "sinner" or "disobedient," or "stubborn."  Maybe, even "evil."  Hey, but don't ask me.  Just do not depend on the mirror you have hung on your wall.  Look at the one that has the real power to show us the human spirit that really resides in each one of us.