The Mirror (Short Homily)
James 1:16-27
What image do you see ... when you look in a mirror?
Who is that person ... in the reflection?
Paul speaks of looking into a darkened mirror:
BIBLE "For now we see through a mirror, darkly; but then face to face (Pause) now I know in part; but then shall I know fully ....... just as I also have been fully known." END (1 Corinthians 13:12)
As I thought about this passage ... I came to realize ... that all of us look at life .... in slightly different ways.
We each see ourselves differently ... because we are seeing a reflection ... of who we think we are.
But where does that reflection coming from?
What kind of mirror ... are we looking into?
Some people look at themselves, ........at their image, ... as though they were looking into a very tiny mirror.
You know the mirror I am talking about.
Every woman ... seems to have one.
I know my mother would always have one buried somewhere inside her purse.
She would hand one of us the mirror and say ... get that smudge off your face ...... your hair is all messed up.
It was so small ... I could barely see anything but my own eyeball ... looking back at me.
I have looked at my own life at times .... through this tiny mirror.
You fix a little something here.
You cover up a little something there.
And if you cannot fix it or cover it up ... you move the mirror away... so you won't have to look at anymore.
But if were honest ... that image that we think were covering up or ignoring ...... is seen ... not only by God ..... but by those around us.
Sometimes we think we are hiding something so very well, ... that others see so very clearly.
It isn't that we cannot get a bigger or better mirror.
It's that we have become comfortable ... with the false image.
And maybe ... we have even convinced our-self ... that we are just fine ... the way we are.
There are some things in our lives ... that we would like to hide.
But it is those very things that we are hiding from ....... or refuse to change ..... that in time become ... sin to us.
They will keep us from transforming i... nto the image of Christ. (Long Pause)
Have you ever been in a house of mirrors ... at a fair or carnival?
I remember running around ... to every mirror.
I would make all kinds of different poses ... stick my tongue out ... and watch it get so long that it looked like it touched the floor.
Have you been there? (Pause)
Some of the mirrors make you look like you are much taller ... than you really are.
Have you every let your image be warped... into thinking you are better than someone else.
I have.
You let yourself become much taller ... in your own eyes than you really are.
Often we do not even know ... that we are looking through this mirror.
We just ignore certain people around us and we become like the Priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan.
In our case we might walk by the poor,... the sick, ... a new family that came to church ... or the homeless.
Paul must have known some people like this in the early church.
Hear Paul's words to the Believers gathered in Rome, ". BIBLE I say to everyone among you, not to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think...." END (Romans 12:3)
On the opposite side there is another warped mirror ........ in which many see an image of themselves; ..... that is much shorter than it truly is.
People who use this mirror to see themselves ... often believe that they can never be special. (Pause)
Oh sure ....... I have looked through this mirror also.
Sometimes we look through this mirror ... when we are stressed, ... depressed or ... wondering why God would ever use a sinner like me.
Beloved ..... We need to quit looking through warped mirrors and begin to see ourselves the way that God sees us.
If we are called to be in the image of God, ... why should we think that we are going to be a failure?
We need to look into the perfect mirror ... in order to see the real person ... that we are.
The only perfect mirror ... is the Word of God, ... the Holy Scriptures.
And The perfect image ........ is Jesus.
We need to look into a perfect mirror to see ....... the real image ......the real person.
James tells us how to look in the mirror (Pause),
BIBLE "For if any are hearers of the word, and not a doers, (Pause) they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror...And on going away immediately forget what they were like." END (James 1:23)
We must look into that perfect law of liberty found in the Scriptures ........ And make sure that we have a clear view of who we are ... in Jesus.
Than we must be doers of the word ... and not hearers only.
(Slow) Only a perfect mirror ... can give you a perfect image.
Let us pray, O merciful Father May our image be transformed to that of Christ.
May we see ourselves and others through your loving eyes.
May we be transformed into that same image and be taken from glory to glory.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen & Amen.
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal gift: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Homily was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings
