God beautifully and boldly calls us to be mirrors to one another so that we can have an accurate picture of how we look and not simply think we look amazing. We often think we look great and yet are a complete mess. Our hair is disheveled, our shoes are mismatched and on the wrong feet, we have a stain on our shirt, which happens to be on backwards and none of our clothes match at all. We have a booger hanging out of our nose and red bell pepper stuck in our teeth from breakfast. It is quite embarrassing and a hit to our pride to have someone point out those things to us – especially when we think we look exceptional.
But what kind of a friend would let you walk out the door in such disarray?! Even though it’s uncomfortable, wouldn’t you rather have your good friend point those things out than some stranger? Or have people mock and hate you because of how silly you look?
That’s what the World Race is all about. We are called to be mirrors of each other’s spiritual appearance out of love, and often it is rather uncomfortable to call someone out or be called out yourself. You weren’t as honest as you should have been. You weren’t gentle in dealing with someone. You were selfish in this circumstance. You were unforgiving to your teammate. You were easily offended by someone. You were ungrateful. You weren’t considerate of your roommates. You behaved emotionally in that instance. And on and on.
It is no fun to see how ugly you look in the mirror. But Praise God that someone loves you enough to tell you in love how you truly look! And by the grace of God you can change your heart and behavior by the power of the Holy Spirit! You can choose to lay down your pride, take a leap of faith, thank your brother and sister for the reflection and choose life! Life says God is revealing these things to you because He has something more and better in store for you! You will never be perfect, and that’s okay! Being authentic and loving is what is important while always striving to be more like Christ.
Philippians 1:6 He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
