Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

A Series on the Beatitudes
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 5:8; James 1:22-25; Psalm 24:3-4

 [In this series, we will be looking at the Beatitudes from the perspective that Jesus came to establish his kingdom. In order to do that, he needed to set new expectations; to let his followers know that his was a spiritual kingdom, not a political one. To teach them what it means to bring in his kingdom; what it means to turn the world upside down.] 

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.      NIV

 

 

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” These are the words of the Evil Queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. This story may be a fairy tale, but there’s a lot of truth in it.

 

For instance, when the Evil Queen looked into the mirror, she didn’t really want the truth, just affirmation. And when she was told the truth, she sent her Huntsman off to find Snow White to kill her. No, the Evil Queen didn’t want to know the truth about the ugliness of who she really was on the inside.

 

Like the Evil Queen, our human nature leads us to deflect, rationalize and justify our flaws that are ugly. We prefer to point our finger at someone else rather than to look at our own shortcomings. James gives us some insight into how to avoid this.

 

²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. NLT

 

If we look carefully… do what it says… and don’t forget… then God will bless us. The Beatitude for this week affirms James’ words.

 

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.     MSG

 

If we get our inside world right, then we will see God, or at least see Him at work. Listen to what David wrote about climbing the mountain of the Lord. He confirms that like Moses on Mount Sinai, Elijah on Mount Carmel and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, we too can see God and His work.

 

³ Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols and never tell lies. NLT

 

Do you want to “climb the mountain of the Lord”? Do you want to see Jesus? Then let him change you from the inside out. Let him make you pure.

 

Then when you look into the word of God, which is our mirror, you will see the truth. Not only the truth about yourself, but the truth of what Jesus has done for you. And the truth will set you free.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Purging Mammoth Cave

1 John 1:1-10

 

  

^5 “This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him. ⁶ If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim.”      MSG

 

John lived continuously with Jesus for three years. Although he and his brother were known as the “Sons of Thunder” because of their temper, he was also referred to as the “one whom Jesus loved”. He had a very special relationship with Jesus; maybe closer to him than any of the other disciples.

 

It is from this dichotomous perspective of anger and love that he wrote the letter of 1 John which addresses a heresy of the day known as Gnosticism. It was a heresy that threatened the entire first century church.

 

In a tour of Mammoth Cave, when you are in the belly of the cave, your guide will turn

off all the lights. As a result, it is pitch black. There is no light in the darkness. In fact, you can put your hand so close to your face that you can feel your breath, but not be able to see your hand.

 

During the same tour, in the midst of the darkness, the guide may strike a match. That single match emits enough light for you to find your way along the trail. That small light eliminates the darkness that had surrounded you; it illuminates your path so that you won’t stumble.

 

This is a metaphor for your life. God is light; there is no darkness in Him. Yet, the dichotomy of living the Christian life is that there is a struggle between darkness and light in us. The darkness is a constant threat, but the light is always with us, ready to exhume the darkness.

 

Therefore, what can we do when darkness enters our heart our mind? We can strike a small match, and the light will purge the darkness.

 

 

 

^9 “On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.”                MSG