“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” the evil queen in the movie Snow White repeatedly asked.  Unable to speak anything but the truth, the magical mirror would always respond in the same way, “Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all.”  And she was, until Snow White came along.  Mirrors don’t lie – they show us exactly what we look like on the outside.  Anyone on a diet knows this to be true.  Sometimes we don’t like what we see in the mirror, but worse yet sometimes we aren’t honest with ourselves about what we see.  We rationalize the truth.  We’re not overweight we’re just big-boned, have a thyroid problem, or a stout body type.  It’s really hard to be honest with ourselves about who we are and what we need to do in order to achieve our goals. 

So what do we see when we look into the mirror of God’s word?  What does it tell us about who and what we are on the inside?  In II Corinthians 13:5, Paul urged the Corinthian Christians to examine themselves to see if they were in the faith.  How hard it is for us to do that objectively, without rationalizing.  It takes a lot of courage, and sometimes our own brothers and sisters in Christ can make it even harder for us by holding us to a standard we cannot meet.  When a brother or sister in Christ confesses sin before the congregation, many can be heard in the aftermath of the revelation decrying what a sad and dark day it is.  In fact, the exact opposite is true.  In Luke 15:7 Jesus says, “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  We should rejoice anytime people look into the mirror of God’s word and find themselves wanting.  We should rejoice because they have seen who they are and are no longer rationalizing the word of God.  They are being honest with themselves and have thought about what they need to do to be right with God.  Much more to be pitied are those who have looked into the mirror but are unable to recognize the truth.  They are like the man described in James chapter one who “looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23-24)  They know the word of God, but somehow it never seems to apply to them.  It’s always someone else who comes to mind when they hear a particular Scripture read.  The Christian who can truly be honest with himself is headed down the road that leads to salvation.  Those who rationalize are self-deceived and blind.

Yet simply knowing where you stand with God is not enough.  James 1:22 tells us to be doers of the word, not just hearer.  Be honest with yourself about who and what you are, but follow that with positive action.  To resist sin, formulate a plan of attack and rely on God and his word, along with your brothers and sisters in Christ to see it comes to fruition.  Besides Bible study and prayer, find a trusted brother or sister with whom you can pray and confess your sins.  (James 5:16)  The blessings and privileges of being in Christ are available to us all.  His blood has the power to make us what we ought to be.  The question is, what do you see when you look into the mirror, and what will you do about it?