1334AFC082313 – Mirror, Mirror on the Shelf
Read it online here, please.
James 1:23-25 – Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:23-25)
Recently our Fr. Gerry delivered a homily that had a striking thought in it; it sounded a bit like this: “One difference between a mirror and a window is that a mirror has a silver lining.” That stuck with me, partly because of that old adage about silver linings, and partly because mirrors are fascinating objects – not so much because of what you see in them but how they work. Instead of seeing through it, you see up to it and what is beyond you is behind you. A window lets you see out from inside (or in from the outside), but in order to see out, one side of the window has to be outside and the other side inside. When you look through a window, what is beyond you is ahead of you but what is behind you is seen only indistinctly. If you hang a window on a wall without a hole in the wall, all you can see is where it’s hung up. If you set a mirror in a space for a window in a wall, the light outside cannot come in and the light inside cannot go out. A good quality mirror gives a relatively true, but not perfect, reflection. A poor mirror gives a poor reflection so it is nearly useless. What are some things that make a mirror useless? Dirt and abrasions on the front, corrosion and scratches in the back, and keeping your eyes closed. Yes, to use a mirror effectively, it has to be clean, intact, and you have to keep your eyes open.
Some people are mirrors. Some people are windows. I know. You’re thinking of “two-way mirrors” like in the Interrogation Rooms on TV. On one side it functions as a mirror, on the other side it functions as a window. For that to work, the inside of the room has to be brightly lit, and the persons on the other side of the glass have to be in an area dimly lit. There are people like that, too. How they appear to you depends on which side you’re standing on and why you’re there. If you are inside the room, you are under scrutiny in the light. If you are outside the room, you are in the shadows evaluating what’s in the light. Even in this we see the wisdom and power of God in Creation. It works the way he intends it to work. From the first time someone looked into still water and saw a face reflected back, the physics of reflection always follow God’s laws of Creation. We would do well not to question that.
God asked Job a question that included a reference to a mirror. Job 37:18 – Can you help God spread out the sky and make it shine like polished brass? Paul compared our knowledge of God to the image we see in an imperfect mirror. I Corinthians 13:12 – Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me. Later, in his second letter to the Corinthians, he said, 2 Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Word of God is the only mirror that can show you the future, your future. The Bible is not a “mirror, mirror on the wall,” but rather a mirror in your hand, transforming you from the inside out by the power of the Word of God. God can see through any mirror of ours, and his word can be a mirror to our lives. We can use that mirror to see what changes we must make to appear more like the image of Christ who is the Don’t just put on makeup; make up with God. Reflect in the Word by reflecting on his Scriptures.
Exact Image of the Father
Hebrews 1:3 – God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high …
The late Rev. Adrian Rogers stated in one of his messages that God uses Scripture to show us what we can become if we focus on the Word. He said that the deeper you are in the Word “you become like what you look at.” The entire Word of God is in Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus is in the entire word of God. If you are in the Word, where are you? In Christ Jesus! If the Word of God is in you, then inside you is Christ Jesus, “changed into the same image from glory to glory!” We will see him as he is for we shall be like him.
Mirror, Mirror on the shelf,
Reflect back to me my true self.
Ah, Beloved! Don’t be like the person who looks into the mirror, turns away, and forgets what you saw! Look hard and carefully into the mirror of scripture. Take up that Bible, pull it off the shelf or nightstand or out of the drawer in your desk and dive in!
As for the other rhyme:
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who’s the Fairest of them all?”
Share-A-Prayer: Praise Reports
For P and P and C – PRAISE GOD! Clean and sober and staying that way! Thank you, MBN, for your prayerful support for these brothers and sisters of ours.
1334AFC082313 – Mirror, Mirror on the Shelf
Read it online here, please.
James 1:23-25 – Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:23-25)
Recently our Fr. Gerry delivered a homily that had a striking thought in it; it sounded a bit like this: “One difference between a mirror and a window is that a mirror has a silver lining.” That stuck with me, partly because of that old adage about silver linings, and partly because mirrors are fascinating objects – not so much because of what you see in them but how they work. Instead of seeing through it, you see up to it and what is beyond you is behind you. A window lets you see out from inside (or in from the outside), but in order to see out, one side of the window has to be outside and the other side inside. When you look through a window, what is beyond you is ahead of you but what is behind you is seen only indistinctly. If you hang a window on a wall without a hole in the wall, all you can see is where it’s hung up. If you set a mirror in a space for a window in a wall, the light outside cannot come in and the light inside cannot go out. A good quality mirror gives a relatively true, but not perfect, reflection. A poor mirror gives a poor reflection so it is nearly useless. What are some things that make a mirror useless? Dirt and abrasions on the front, corrosion and scratches in the back, and keeping your eyes closed. Yes, to use a mirror effectively, it has to be clean, intact, and you have to keep your eyes open.
Some people are mirrors. Some people are windows. I know. You’re thinking of “two-way mirrors” like in the Interrogation Rooms on TV. On one side it functions as a mirror, on the other side it functions as a window. For that to work, the inside of the room has to be brightly lit, and the persons on the other side of the glass have to be in an area dimly lit. There are people like that, too. How they appear to you depends on which side you’re standing on and why you’re there. If you are inside the room, you are under scrutiny in the light. If you are outside the room, you are in the shadows evaluating what’s in the light. Even in this we see the wisdom and power of God in Creation. It works the way he intends it to work. From the first time someone looked into still water and saw a face reflected back, the physics of reflection always follow God’s laws of Creation. We would do well not to question that.
God asked Job a question that included a reference to a mirror. Job 37:18 – Can you help God spread out the sky and make it shine like polished brass? Paul compared our knowledge of God to the image we see in an imperfect mirror. I Corinthians 13:12 – Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me. Later, in his second letter to the Corinthians, he said, 2 Corinthians 3:18 – But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Word of God is the only mirror that can show you the future, your future. The Bible is not a “mirror, mirror on the wall,” but rather a mirror in your hand, transforming you from the inside out by the power of the Word of God. God can see through any mirror of ours, and his word can be a mirror to our lives. We can use that mirror to see what changes we must make to appear more like the image of Christ who is the Don’t just put on makeup; make up with God. Reflect in the Word by reflecting on his Scriptures.
Exact Image of the Father
Hebrews 1:3 – God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high …
The late Rev. Adrian Rogers stated in one of his messages that God uses Scripture to show us what we can become if we focus on the Word. He said that the deeper you are in the Word “you become like what you look at.” The entire Word of God is in Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus is in the entire word of God. If you are in the Word, where are you? In Christ Jesus! If the Word of God is in you, then inside you is Christ Jesus, “changed into the same image from glory to glory!” We will see him as he is for we shall be like him.
Mirror, Mirror on the shelf,
Reflect back to me my true self.
Ah, Beloved! Don’t be like the person who looks into the mirror, turns away, and forgets what you saw! Look hard and carefully into the mirror of scripture. Take up that Bible, pull it off the shelf or nightstand or out of the drawer in your desk and dive in!
As for the other rhyme:
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
Who’s the Fairest of them all?”
Share-A-Prayer: Praise Reports
For P and P and C – PRAISE GOD! Clean and sober and staying that way! Thank you, MBN, for your prayerful support for these brothers and sisters of ours.
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
