Every now and then I have
songs that begin to play in my head. Now I don’t think that means I’ve lost my
mind ( I hope!), I think it is just memories and old tapes that begin to play. One
song that comes to mind every so often is “You Are So Beautiful To Me” sung by
Joe Cocker. That song can inspire all sorts of images – how I feel about my
wife, how I feel about my children, and especially how I feel about my Lord.
The one thing it doesn’t conjure up is an image of myself. Now before you think
that I am just being self effacing, let me say that I am not really talking
about outward appearance. In our society, we tend to immediately judge people
by their appearances. It takes us a little longer to get to know the character
of an individual and see the beauty that God has placed within them. I always
love the “what if’s” so here goes – what if we had a mirror that would reflect
a person’s heart. Would you see something beautiful in the reflection of your
own heart. The Gospel calls us to be reflections of Jesus Christ and his love
for others. We are reminded of this in James where he says: "... be doers of the word, and not merely
hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not
doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at
themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like"
(James 1:22-24).
It is easy for us to say that
“God is beautiful” or “Jesus is beautiful” and know that we are talking about
that inner beauty of being and of spirit. As disciples of Jesus Christ, what is
it that we see when we look at ourselves in the mirror? Is it that same beauty
we see in him? If not, then why not?
We are creatures of habit and
those things that we practice are those things that become habits for us. If we
practice being “Christ-like”, then our habits will become “Christ-like”. As we
develop the habit of loving others, treating others, accepting others, and
seeing others as Christ does, then we become more like him. If we become more
like him, then we begin to radiate a true beauty that is the reflection of him.
Look in the mirror. What do you see? Don’t forget what you are like!
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