Mirror, Mirror

MIRROR, MIRROR

Text: John 8:32

A house with no mirrors means you'll never know what needs to be worked on. Most of us wouldn't want a house with no mirrors. But some of us are trying to live our life with no mirrors. Human mirrors, that is. People who, figuratively speaking, hold up a mirror and show us some things about ourselves that we may not want to hear, but we really need to hear.

John 8:32 is a blunt, to-the-point bottom line on why we need the truth. "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Some of us live like the truth will scare us to death or hurt too much. But it can't hurt nearly as much as avoiding the truth about yourself - the truth that continues to hurt your relationships, limit your life, and bring you down. Someone may be your "mirror" that is irritating or painful to hear from. But God put those people in your life because He loves you too much to let you keep running from the truth that is costing you so much.

The Bible says, "Iron sharpens iron; so a friend sharpens the countenance of his friend." It may be that someone you might consider an enemy has said some things no one else would say to you about you. And while they mean to hurt you, there may be at least some mirror of truth in what they said.

The truth that might be painful never really goes away. Everywhere you go, you take you with you. God loves you too much to let you keep denying the truth about yourself. So He's put someone in your life to hold up a mirror. Don't reject what the mirror is trying to show you. And don't blame the mirror - it's the message the mirror is trying to give you, not the messenger that's the issue.

Thank God for the mirror He's given you. The truth may be hard to face. It may mean opening up to someone who can really help you with it. It may mean removing a mask you've been hiding behind for a long time, but it's worth all that and more. Because it's the truth, and only the truth, that will finally set you free.

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