Reflections

During the month of June Vicki and I did a little remodeling project in our basement. In one of the rooms was the furnace, the water heater, the washer and dryer, a toilet and a long piece of counter top with a kitchen sink in it. We thought it would be nice to take out the long piece of counter top with the kitchen sink and replace it with a small vanity and a shower so that I could have my own space to get ready in the mornings, as well as having a nicer bathroom for guests and family.

The project all went very smoothly and soon I had my own bathroom to get ready in. However, when it came to picking out a mirror to put above the vanity, Vicki had a hard time finding one that fit the space between the outlet and the light above. I suggested that we get the kind of mirror with the medicine cabinet behind it and with the row of lights at the top. I found a nice one in a pawn shop in Sioux Falls, but she assured me that no one on HGTV ever uses them in a remodeling project.

I had been using the bathroom for a few days without having a mirror, but I soon discovered that shaving and making my hairdo look nice wasn’t going that well, I kindly asked her if she was having any luck finding a mirror. She responded by informing me she was going to Sioux Falls that day and she would look for one. I jokingly responded to her, “Well whatever you get, don’t buy the kind of mirror that shows that my hair is thinning, or that reflects that I’m looking older. And don’t get the mirror that shows that I’ve been gaining weight. If you can, find a mirror that makes me look good.”

Over the past several weeks we’ve been looking at the 10 Commandments and while John Calvin considered them as a “thankful guide for daily living,” Martin Luther saw the 10 Commandments as a “mirror which reflects our need for grace.” Either way, the challenge of looking in the mirror and seeing how far short we fall of the glory of God, is to repent.  Again, as I’ve shared before, at times it feels like my                 “want-to-er” is broke. I deceive myself into thinking my life is working just fine, and so I don’t give my word to obeying God’s commands.

I’m often like the person James writes about in James 2:22-24, “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.”

Well, Vicki finally found the mirror she was looking for, so now I can mow down all those pesky whiskers and do my hair real nice. And whether I like it or not, it reflects my receding hair line, the signs of aging, and that I’ve gained some weight. After it was finally hung, the mirror reminds me of how desperately I am in need of God’s grace in every area of my life.

May it not be so with those who are reading this article that we would resist being confronted with the ugly reality of our sinfulness and of our need for grace when hearing the Word of God. But rather, when convicted, may we be open to the Spirit’s transforming work in our lives, and eagerly give our word to obeying God’s commands.

Mike Altena

 

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