Are You Looking in the Mirror of God’s Word?

My family recently visited an all-inclusive resort in Playa Mujeres, Mexico. We were treated to an ocean view, a stocked mini bar—and restroom facilities far fancier than the ones installed in our 115-year-old army-base quarters. The ability to fit two people into the Jacuzzi tub at your hotel when you can’t fit two people in your whole bathroom at home is exciting.

On our first night there, we were going to dinner a bit late, and it was already dark. To get ready in the bathroom, I needed substantially more light than what was available overhead, so I decided to use another, seemingly glamorous feature: the magnifying, light-up mirror.

You know the kind of mirror I’m talking about, right? It’s meant to show every square inch of your face, and, for the love, it enlarges every single one of your features. Lit up and pulled away from the wall, it gave me not only a front-row seat to all my sun damage, but showed me every hair I had missed while plucking my eyebrows.

You may not know this about me, but I’m already a little mad about my skin. I’m simultaneously aging and fighting adult acne. Recently, my daughter’s kindergarten friend asked me why I have so many holes in my face. I’m still recovering. But, I digress. Back to the mirror.

As my reflection stared back at me, I noticed every flaw. Large pores, crow’s feet, a few forehead wrinkles—all were amplified and lit up for me to critique. Yikes. It hurts a little to examine yourself so closely and see each flaw in such a harsh way.

God’s Mirror and Its Reflection

Looking into the mirror reminded me of some verses in the book of James. In chapter 1, verses 23–25, James tells us, “For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it” (NLT).

It occurred to me that this mirror, annoying as it was, was like the Word. When we open our Bibles, we’re staring into the character of God, and what’s reflected back at us are all the ways he is perfect and we are not. We see his grace and mercy, and we are reminded that we are lacking. We see his power and realize our weakness. We see his faithfulness and discover our infidelity. We see his immutability and recognize the many ways we drift and change. We see his giving nature and realize we have not followed him in giving of ourselves.

The Word shows us who God is, and, in turn, it shows us who we are. When we stack ourselves up against the creator of the universe, it’s hard to feel anything other than needy and broken. Compared to him, we are all this way.

None of us are perfectly following the Word the way Jesus did. We forget what we’ve heard, and we casually glimpse at our perception of ourselves as we go on our way instead of holding ourselves up to the Word—the character of God. We, in our humanness, can’t seem to get it right all the time.

God’s Character and His Intent

I forgot to mention something great about that bathroom mirror, though. While it put my imperfections on display, it also guided me in a way I’d never experienced. Using its magnifying, illuminating features, I was able to pluck every eyebrow hair I had missed and apply my eyeliner with better-than-normal precision. Because I could see myself in a new way, I was able to improve what I’d missed.

When I read the Bible, I’m doing the same thing, which I believe is God’s intent. I look into his character and see where I’m lacking. He magnifies it, lights it up, and shows me how to be more like him. This process is often more painful than plucking my eyebrows. I would like to leave some things about me alone. I happen to like some of my imperfections, so I cling to them. I don’t want my selfishness or stubbornness plucked. I don’t mind looking at them in my reflection if the rest of me looks okay.

God isn’t showing me who he is so I can stay the way I am. He’s helping me see what needs to go for me to be like Jesus. He’s showing me every microscopic blackhead in my character, and like one of those pore strips, he’s pulling them away, making me a little less blemished.

The Word is a powerful reminder of who God is and how much he desires us to follow him. Sometimes that means taking an up-close look at what our hearts are choosing to do and what they’re willing to give up. Maybe the Word is asking you to look more closely at your choices or opinions. Maybe a long-held belief doesn’t seem biblical anymore. Maybe that thing you like to do in secret doesn’t look so great when it’s held up to the character of Christ.

When God brings our faults and flaws to our attention, it can be scary, but James reminds us that if we don’t forget what we’ve heard and we do what the Lord commands, we will be blessed. That thing you’ve been meaning to quit, that grudge you’ve been holding? Those are like stray eyebrow hairs God is telling you to tweeze. Do what he says and be blessed.

Becky Yurisich is a full-time Army wife and mom, and an occasional teacher of first graders. She is an unapologetic follower of Jesus and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. Becky holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from UNC, and dreams of writing a book. She blogs at beckyyurisich.com.

Photograph © Ali Marel, used with permission