Mirrors

"I don't matter", "regrets only", "addict", "illegal", "victim", "they used me", "I am angry", "weak", "refugee", "rejected", "my life doesn't work", "anxious", "betrayed", "empty", "I cheated them too"-- "BELOVED". 


To begin with, I must ask, have you ever felt like any of the words that appeared on those pieces of cardboard during the video? Are you angry? Are you lonely? Has someone done you wrong? Have you done someone else wrong? Is your life just not working? Do you feel like you have let God down? I have felt many of the above listed words before, but how many times do we put the word "beloved" up and claim it as our identity? Not nearly enough times. 


Okay, I am not writing about this song to make us realize how awful we are, rather to help us realize that God sees us through rose colored glasses, or more accurately the blood of Jesus Christ. 


This Monday, right before I left my evening worship service, Omar (the pianist) was asking the Father to let us see ourselves in His mirror. In His blood stained mirror that hides all of our imperfections. As he was speaking I saw the beautiful picture of how God sees us, and I wondered what would happen if the world actually saw ourselves through His eyes. When I turned my truck on and it was talking about looking in a mirror. The words that stuck in my head were "In the mirror all I see/ Is who I don't wanna be/ Remind me who I am". The song was saying the same thing that Omar had, but in a different way. How do we look at ourselves? Most importantly, how does God look at us?


To begin, "When I can't remember what grace is" stands out in my mind. This is sad. I am blessed to have a mother who is full of grace. So much so, that once on a trip with a bunch of friends, one of the teenage guys in the car said, "You have too much grace!" The point behind this is that our perfect Heavenly Father has much more grace than anyone on earth can ever dream of having, and there is no such thing as "too much" in His book. Yet, somehow, we constantly forget that He sent His Son to die for us. We did not deserve that, it was grace. It was certainly grace that caused Him to spare Noah, save His people from Pharaoh and do anything and everything else He has ever done on this earth! 


But, we feel like we are worthless and He hates us. I once talked to a girl who told me that she was scared to pray, because she thought God was angry with her. This is the perfect example of someone who has forgotten who they are to the Most High God. 


Next, "When my heart is like a stone" sticks out. How many of us have let our hearts harden toward a friend, family member, acquaintance, or even toward God? I recently heard someone say that we are not arguing with the person standing next to us, but with the demon that is quarreling within them. Since I heard this, it has opened my eyes. I also know that none of us can be set free until we let go of the hurt that we have and allow peace and grace and joy to replace the hurt. Unfortunately many Christians get hurt at church, and they turn and run from God as though it is His fault. Any time we are running from Him we will not fully be at peace, instead we will be "running far from home" like the prodigal son. 


The final line that stands out is "Afraid I'll never be enough". We will never be enough. However, He is more than enough, and He is on our side. We no longer have to be good enough, because the only one that matters is looking at us in His special mirror that has a layer of blood covering it. It shows us being pure and holy if we have accepted the gift that Jesus has given us. So the next time you question who you are, erase the title that you have for yourself and replace it with "beloved".


When you look in the mirror, ask yourself: am I looking in my mirror, the world's mirror, or my Father's mirror? If you are not looking in God's mirror then run to Him, read His Word, seek His face, because He loves you just the way you are.