Have you ever been to a “Hall of Mirrors” in an amusement park? I find it rather fun to look at all the different shapes your body appears to take on. My favorite mirror in such a place is the one that makes you look much thinner than you really are! Even though I know I’m looking at a distorted view of myself, even though I’m aware of not getting a true picture of myself, it gives me a view of the way I’d like to be.
In a way, the Christian Bible is like a mirror. When we look directly into the Word of God, we can see ourselves as we really are, and, more importantly, as God sees us. When God looks at us, there is no distortion. God sees clearly who we really are. The Bible is also like that mirror in the funhouse, in the sense that we can find ourselves as we’d like to be.
The Bible, when read well and often, shows us two basic things about ourselves: (1) we are sinners, capable of wickedness, even evil, and (2) we are capable, in Christ, of receiving full forgiveness and God’s grace. We can become the person God wants us to be!
Jesus came to this earth, with a ministry of healing. He came to heal us of the distortions and the dirt (aka filth) on our mirrors. Jesus came to cleanse and heal us.
The Bible says that Jesus came to heal “various diseases,” which I believe means that he came to heal us of all kinds of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual illnesses. We should never forget that Jesus is always willing and wanting to heal us of the sickness of our sin. Jesus is always willing and wanting to turn us into the best version of ourselves!
We have this most wonderful resource, the Bible, as a mirror for our souls. In the same way, we have the actual living presence of Jesus, who comes into our lives RIGHT NOW to cleanse and heal us.
When we first look into the mirror of our lives, we might hate what we see. All that sin. All that stress. All that pain. But when we keep looking, with the help of the Bible and the church, we will see Jesus. All that forgiveness! All that healing! All that love!
