Mirror, Mirror

After my paternal grandmother died in 1981, my mother inherited a beautiful mirrored tray, containing a flat-backed hair brush, a comb and a hand mirror.  A couple of years ago, she gave it to me.  It now sits on my dresser, where I should be able to enjoy it.  

I like to wear jewelry, not the hugely expensive kind, but the type you buy at home jewelry parties. My friends, Kathy and Jennifer, are reps for a wonderful, Christian company that sells it, and over the years I've built quite a collection.  In conjunction with this, I've developed a bad habit.

Although I have a perfectly excellent storage box for my jewelry, it is in the bathroom.  When I return from a foray out into the wild world, I walk into the bedroom, throw off my shoes and take off all my jewelry.  Where do you think it lands?  That's right!  In the mirrored tray.  Pretty soon, the tray overflows with beautiful things, and when I want to find something with which to accessorize my look, I just "shop" from the tray.  smh...

So, yesterday, I decided that this had gone on long enough.  I began to divest my tray of its baubles, taking them to the tall chest in my bathroom.  As I got down toward the bottom, I realized ... there's a mirror down there.  It sort of shocked me, though if you'd asked me, I would have told you it was there.  All those pretty necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings were obscuring it.

It struck me forcibly that this was a metaphor for our relationship with the Word (Greek: Logos). What do I mean by that?  Logos is used as both a name of God's Son, Jesus, and also for His revealed, written word, the Bible.  Look at these verses:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made, that was made."

John 1:1-3

Lots of repetition in that verse, for emphasis, it seems.  John wants us to know as we compare these verses with Genesis 1 that the "God" who spoke the universe and all created things into existence was Jesus, the Logos.

Later in John, the only gospel that records Jesus' high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed in John 17:17 - - "Sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth."

In Acts 12:24, 13:49 and 19:20, we see phrases pertaining to how the gospel message (God's word) was spread:
"the word of God increased and multiplied", "the word of God was spreading", "the word of God continued to increase".... In each of these cases, "word of God" is the Greek word, "logos".

God's physical revelation, God-With-Skin-On, our Savior and God's written word to us, the Bible. Same word used for both.  Wow.  Sort of elevates the Bible, doesn't it?

The Word of God is also described as a mirror, which brings me back to my little anecdote.  (You suspected I had hopeless wandered off the trail, didn't you?!)  Look at 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 ---

16but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

and James 1:23-24 ---

23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

It is in this last passage by Jesus' half-brother, James, we see the strongest correlation between the Word of God and a mirror.

You see (pun intended), when my mirror was obscured by all those admittedly beautiful things, I could not even see the mirror.  I was so distracted by them that I even forgot the mirror was there! This can easily happen in our Christian walk as well.  We can allow our attentions to be drawn away by wonderful things that, in the final analysis, are not the best things.  Wonderful things (even people) can cause our priorities to get skewed; they can cloud our vision, even.

Daily, at the very least, we need to push aside wonderful, beautiful distractions, worthwhile distractions, to clearly look into God's Word.  Here's why:

1.  The Word of God is a light that illuminates our path.  Psalm 119:105
2.  The Word of God is like a sharp, double-edged sword that pierces our spirit so that God's truth can seep in.  Hebrews 4:12
3.  In the James passage, The Word of God is a mirror, that reveals what God next wants to do in our lives, transforming us from "forgetful hearers" into "effective doers".  James 1:23-24
4.  The Word of God washes us clean, purifies and consecrates us, as John 17:17 says.
5.  The Word of God is life and health to your body, "nourishment to your bones"! Prov. 3:8 and 4:22  (That one is for you, Dr. Moss!)
6.  Finally, in the 2 Cor. 3 passage, the Word allows us to realize and behold the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  And, if that weren't enough, the Word through His Holy Spirit transforms us "from glory to glory"!  By feasting on the Word of God, we become more like Him.

Let's recommit ourselves to pushing those beautiful baubles aside in order to give God His pre-eminent first place in our day!  I mentioned Dr. Moss, my chiropractor in #5 above.  He was telling us in a seminar last night about the importance of starting our day with good, positive affirmations.  I can think of none better than the powerful, living written revelation, the Word of God.

Lord Jesus, that I may KNOW you!  For You are the very incarnation of God the Father!  May I daily see You, revealed in Your holy Word, seeing The Word in the Word, and be daily transported from glory TO glory, walking resplendent here until my very soul and spirit are transported to that eternal glory, where I will walk resplendent with you forever.  Make it so, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.