Called to serve God by increasing awareness of His presence and declaring His love

MOUSEY MOMENT … churchmouseMIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL

Marie Curie is leading the nation in a UK-wide Day of Reflection this month on Sunday 3 March 2024.

The UK’s leading end of life charity is asking individuals and communities to remember the people who died during the Covid pandemic, whatever the cause, and to show support for everyone who was bereaved. This is an opportunity for everyone to remember our loved ones who’ve died, support people who are grieving, and connect with each other.

One way people are encouraged to ‘remember’ is by creating Walls of Reflection. These are a space to share memories of the family, friends, colleagues and neighbours who have died.

A wall of reflection is like a mirror …

Read James 1 v22-25: ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, he will be blessed in what he does.’ God’s Word, the Bible, is the only reliable mirror that tells us truthfully what we are like before God. Other mirrors may flatter us, but God’s looking glass tells it like it is!

“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall!” Do you remember where that saying comes from? The wicked witch in the story of ‘Snow White’ liked it when the mirror told her that she was the fairest of them all. But when it told her that she wasn’t … then she got very angry and very jealous.

That’s the thing about GOOD mirrors, they always tell us the truth, even if we don’t like what we see!

But if a mirror is going to work properly, it has to be a proper mirror. Have you ever been to a funhouse that had distorted mirrors? They warp & twist the image that we see!

Here are a few examples of mirrors:

MIRROR 1 – A PIECE OF ALUMINUM FOIL

This mirror is like the mirror of the world. This world doesn’t really have a clear view of right and wrong. It’s blurry.

MIRROR 2 – A MIRROR COVERED UP WITH STICKERS

This mirror is the reflection you get from your friends. It looks good. It’s pretty. But it doesn’t do much good. When other people tell you how good you are or how bad you are, it won’t be accurate! They will reflect to you what their own ideas of you are.

MIRROR 3 – A MIRROR THAT IS BROKEN

This is the mirror of religion. Religion makes a lot of good claims and does contain some bits and pieces of truth. HOWEVER, it is cracked and incapable of revealing the full truth.

MIRROR 4 – A GOOD MIRROR, BUT SMALL.

This is a good mirror. This represents the Bible, God’s Word. James tells us that it gives a perfect reflection and can show us our strengths and our weaknesses. The only problem is, for the mirror to work, we have to get close to it!

James reminds us that a forgetful hearer is someone who sees themselves in God’s Mirror, but then goes away and does nothing about it. The lesson is, when we see a problem, to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

WHEN WE LOOK INTO THE MIRROR OF GOD’S WORD, WHAT DO WE SEE?

  1. We see our flaws. We see that we are sinners.
  2. We also see that Jesus Christ died for our sins.
  3. We see that by believing in Jesus Christ, we can be changed forever.

THE BIBLE IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER MIRROR, because it can actually change us! 

Read II Corinthians 3 v18 ‘And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’

GOD’S MIRROR CAN MAKE US BEAUTIFUL on the inside!