"And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." (Exodus 38:8)
Would I be willing to give up my "lookingglass" for the glory of God? These women of Israel freely offered their mirrors to be fashioned into a piece of furniture that would be serviceable as well as add beauty to God's tabernacle. Of course, I'm speaking figuratively today, thinking well beyond vanity or beauty.
With a mirror, you and I are able to make a singular judgment about ourselves, based on what we see. Without one, however, we are forced to rely on someone else to make the evaluation. Unfortunately, it will be as biased as our own, because there is truth in the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
What if you could have a magic mirror that would change your countenance by simply gazing into it? Paul tells us in II Corinthians 3:18, there is such a glass. If we are willing to allow the glory of God to be our looking glass, he says, we can be changed "into the same image from glory to glory." That’s a thought to grab your imagination—as well as your heart.
If you and I want to see ourselves as we really are, honesty demands that we look into the infallible mirror of God's Word, and acknowledge what we see there. Then, the secret is to not look away, as James says, lest we forget (1:23-24), but, rather, to continue gazing so that the glory of God may become more burnished into our character day by day.
We will never see ourselves as we really are until we are willing to give up our own looking glasses.
No comments:
Post a Comment