A Reflection of Grace

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”-Ephesians 2:8-9

Have I mentioned how much I hate looking in the mirror? I really do. It is a necessary evil.

I was looking in the mirror this morning after brushing my teeth. I always check my beard to make sure I don’t have any stray hairs or extra toothpaste trying to stow away so I can be embarrassed later.

We always look in the mirror.

People even turn things into mirrors, that aren’t meant to be used for mirrors. I have seen people looking in the back of a spoon to check their teeth (gross, please stop). I saw a young lady walk by a window and, once she caught a glimpse of her reflection, she stopped and fixed her hair. Our cellphones have a reverse camera so we can take selfies, but can also be used to make sure your make-up is right or nothing is in your nose.

We find a way to check ourselves out so we look good for those around us.

Why?

We don’t want to be judged. We don’t want to be looked at with a disgusted look. Or, even worse, we don’t want people to laugh at that fact we have a stray beard hair we didn’t notice.

The fact is, we know people around us don’t practice much grace when we have an exterior flaw, so we better take every opportunity to protect our outer image.

My mirror experience this morning got me thinking, about God’s grace for us.

I might have exterior flaws I try really hard to cover, but what about my interior junk?

We all have the stuff on the inside we can cover up really well. We have our anger, hatred, addictions, lust, etc. that nobody knows about because it is deep within. We can walk around looking great thanks to our make-shift mirrors, but internally we are dying if we don’t have a relationship with Jesus.

This is what is so good about the good news. We are renewed, even in our internal mess, Christ has made us whole again.

You see, God, who knows everything about us, sees our internal stuff. He does not really have an issue with our external appearance, but the junk we have hidden within is what He sent His son for.

He knew we needed to be released from our struggle. He knew we had no way to keep our soul clean the way we can straighten our hair or clean out the spinach from our teeth, so He came in the flesh to be the ultimate sacrifice to clean us up internally. So good!

When we look in the mirror and realize we are fixing ourselves up for those around us who can’t give grace for “no make-up” or “messy hair”, remember in that mirror is a reflection of grace from within.

Our internal chaos matters to God. Our daily struggle with sin is why He came. We are covered by His grace, if we choose to accept it. He looks at our mess and sees beauty.

Why?

Because He created us!

May we see the reflection of grace when we look in the mirror. May we find ourselves resting in the fact that we are made in the image of our Creator and He knows what He designed us to be.

Our sin is cleansed by His blood. We can do everything in the world to make ourselves look great externally, but the only One who can make us look good on the inside is the One who created us.

Let Him work and may you see the reflection of grace daily.

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: Do you have a hard time allowing God’s grace to work?