Mirrors

Genesis 1:27
"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Nehemiah 9:28-29
"But as soon as they had rest, they again did what was evil. So you left them to their enemies who ruled over them. When they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven. Because of your mercy, you saved them again and again [28]. You warned them to return to your teachings, but they were proud and did not obey your commands. If someone obeys your laws, he will live, but they sinned against your laws. They were stubborn, unwilling, and disobedient [29]."

      These two verses look like they have absolutely nothing in common, nor do they appear to have any relation to mirrors. However, I think I can prove otherwise.

      From the very beginning of our American lives, we are trained to look into mirrors. Many societies have no such device, nor do they have a need for mirrors. In America, we are a vain people. Over the course of our lives, we spend countless hours staring deeply into our reflection, trying to correct the imperfections, hide the flaws, and make our appearance better overall. It is extremely likely that girls spend more time in front of the mirror than guys, but we are all guilty of some level of vanity.
      But this obsession of looking into mirrors is not innate; little children have to learn how to use mirrors. At first, most children are confused by the person looking back at them. For all they know, it could be another person; it is impossible for a young child to recognize himself in a mirror. It takes a long process of sitting in front of a mirror, holding up a hand, and watching the reflection do the same. After a while, it starts to register in the brain that this reflection is you. From then on out, the person is constantly looking in the mirror, searching for imperfections and wishing to be better.
      Genesis 1:27 says God made us in His image. He made us to be a reflection of Him: when He looks into our world, He should be able to see Himself staring back. But He doesn't. It's very similar to Through the Looking Glass, where Alice stepped through her mirror and entered a world that is the complete opposite of the real world. God reached into our world by sending Jesus, and by doing this, Jesus entered a world that was the complete opposite of the world it reflects. We were made to be reflections of God and our actions should mimic His, similar to how the image in a mirror can do nothing without the movement of the thing it reflects.
      Our failure to reflect God is comparable to a broken mirror--it is a broken image of the beauty it reflects. God should be able to look at this world and be proud of what He sees: a world of love and mercy. However, He looks at it and can see all of its imperfections. Yes, He continues to love the world He created, despite the cracks in the image. But why should we take advantage of His never-ending love?
      Count up all the times you sinned--every wrong thought, every wrong word or action, that you did or will do--and you will start to see what a broken fragment of a mirror you are. Now try to count up all the times God has had mercy on you, all the times He loved you. It would be an impossible task. We continue to fail, but God's love never ends, never fails. Nehemiah 9:28-29 describes a cycle that the Israelites went through, and that every human goes through. We rebel and when the situation becomes sticky, we cry for God's help. God helps us, and we respond with more rebellion (and the cycle continues). Yet, despite our failures, God keeps loving us. He never gives up on us, He does not grow weary with us.
      What if we reflected God's love, His infinite and perfect love? Instead of being a shattered mirror, each person would reflect God's heart and live like Christ. The world would cease to exist as the backwards and broken image, but the true reflection of God, the way He intended us to be. God would be able to look at the world He created in His image and see clearly His reflection.

The Pledge of Allegiance

        "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic

        for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

      These words are forever engraved in the minds of all U.S. citizens. One of the first few things we learned in kindergarten was how to recite the pledge of allegiance. Ever since, we've been mindlessly reciting these words. In junior high and high school, we are required to say the Pledge every day. After so many days of thoughtless repetition--is anyone willing to count the total for me?--no one really knows what they're saying anymore.

      There is no meaning to our words. All we know is that we are told to stand--we do half-heartedly--and told to begin (ready or not). Of course, no one actually takes the Pledge seriously. Either we mumble it under our breath, rolling our eyes and groaning, or we race other students to see who can finish saying it first. There is no true respect for the flag in this. We feel no loyalty to America because we do this by rote every morning.

      Besides, what does it mean to pledge our allegiance to a flag? Is it not a mere piece of fabric? No--It is symbolic of the nation we live in, the nation we have come to love. By pledging our allegiance to the flag, we are stating we will be loyal to the United States of America. But how are we to do that? God says we are to serve him fully, so how do we serve both God and nation? We are not to put the nation in a higher place than God. If legislation was passed to outlaw our faith, we continue, first and foremost, to serve God.

      In serving our nation, serve God. When you vote, vote with your heart which should be reflecting the heart of God. Many people complain about the poor condition of the United States, yet do not vote because they feel their vote wouldn't count. The only way it doesn't count is if the vote was not made in the first place!

      Our pledge to the flag resembles our promise to God. We promise to be devoted followers of Christ. When we first accepted Him into our hearts, we are on fire for Him! We live like we mean it (Think about the kindergarteners who learned the Pledge for the first time--They are arguably some of the most patriotic people in the U.S.). Then, as the promise we made to God becomes more and more drilled into our minds, we lose track of its importance. It becomes a collection of empty, meaningless words. We find "better things to do" than serve God wholeheartedly.

      We stop fighting for what's right, we stop praying on behalf of the needy. We stop talking to God in a genuine way. Then we have the nerve to argue and complain about what is wrong with our lives, yet are still resistant to go to Him for the answers. How lackluster are your prayers? How devoted are you to God? Check your heart. Renew your devotion to God... He's waiting for you to realize you are dependent on Him, and that you need to pledge your allegiance to Him.

Paintings of Jesus

      When I was little, I would kiss Jesus good night. My grandma and I would do the same thing each night I was spending the night at my grandparents' house. I'd sit up in bed with the blankets over my legs. Gram would sit on the edge of the bed, holding a painting of Jesus. This painting is the only image of Jesus I have--whenever I think of Him, I envision the painting Gram kept. It was only the head and shoulders of Jesus, but that's all I needed.
      Every night, we'd sit on the bed, looking at the painting. Then we'd start to sing. It was always "Jesus Loves Me"--complete with hand motions--then sometimes "Jesus Loves the Little Children." Gram and I would pray--hands folded, heads bowed, and eyes squeezed shut. Those were probably the most genuine prayers I ever prayed--from the heart of a child, innocent and eager to love Jesus Christ. After that, I would lean over and give Jesus a peck on the cheek and say "Good night, Jesus." I could almost see Him smile and say "Good night" back to me. Gram would set the picture on the desk next to the bed, tuck me in, and turn off the lights. No need for a night light because Jesus was right there, next to me, watching over me and protecting me.
      What happened to that child-like innocence? Why can't I bring myself to talk to Jesus now like I did back then? Why is it so uncomfortable for me just to whisper prayers in my heart to Him? It makes me feel so sad that I don't have the same eagerness to know Jesus, the willingness and earnestness to try to seek Him. Somewhere along the line, I lost my innocence. Somewhere along the line, something happened that made me be so ashamed of myself I couldn't bear to look at Jesus in the face, let alone talk to Him. Sometimes, I can't even look at my own reflection, to look at myself in the face. But I'm not the only one: It happens to all of us eventually.
      Something happens to everyone when they grow up: The world gets in the way. School, work, social problems, money problems, the list goes on... We become lost in the strife of the world. Our prayers become wish lists. Our prayers become shorter and shorter. Our prayers become later at night, when we're so tired, we fall asleep in the middle of them.
      I truly miss the child-like prayers, the singing, the knowledge Jesus was right there. Above all, I miss the good night kisses. It was probably the most humble, blameless heart speaking directly to Jesus. But now, I find it nearly impossible to connect with Him. I know He's reaching out to me--it's my fault I'm not hearing Him. I know I must remove my stubborness, my pride, in order to hear His voice as loudly as I did as a child. But it's much easier said than done. I feel guilt and shame for my past wrongdoings. I'm a harsher judge on myself than anyone else could ever be. I know with my head that I'm forgiven, but my heart has a harder time accepting that truth.
      I long for the day when I can hold the picture of Jesus again and kiss it good night just one more time. That will be the moment when I know I am secure in the place God wants me to be. In the arms of Jesus.

Muscles

      There are more than six hundred muscles in the human body (up to eight hundred, depending on who you ask). Some muscles are stronger than others, but they all work together to keep the body moving. They are always there--from the time you are born to the time you die. They can be built up with hard work, but their strength can decrease with the lack of use.
      Recall pysical fitness testing in school. A certain number of sit-ups, push-ups, chin-ups, pull-ups, trunk lifts, and all other sorts of exercises were required in order to receive a passing grade. Of course, now experts are saying that sit-ups really are not effective--and still, school's require this to be one of the tests of strength and endurance. The most hated test of all is the mile run, a test of endurance. In high school P.E., we had to run the mile every week to train for the test at the end of each semester. Whenever I see cross country runners at school, I have to wonder what kind of person actually enjoys running (enough so to run long distances every day).
      Faith and spiritual gifts are like our spiritual muscles. They begin weak, but are strengthened over time and with practice. Without use, they can become weak again, or we can forget their strength and never use them to their full potential.
      For a time, I felt insecure in my faith. I felt that I could not be a witness of the Gospel to anyone because I felt so guilty of past wrongs, so doubtful in my faith. If I couldn't even be a proper Christian, who am I to tell someone else they should be? I realized quickly how wrong that is. For one, no human can ever be perfect. If we were perfect, we wouldn't need a Savior (and then we wouldn't need to be preaching to anyone). I felt that my faith wasn't strong enough to be able to defend it--I was fearful that if I began ministering to someone that they would ask me questions I couldn't answer.
      However, lack of faith is not a reason to avoid ministry because ministry builds faith. The more you practice living your faith, the stronger it becomes. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Now imagine if you had an even greater faith than that!
      It is the same with spiritual gifts--once you know which ones you have, start to practice using them. It takes time to develop the sense of how to use them, but as you use them, they will become stronger and stronger. There may be times where you don't use your gifts much, and you can forget how to use them (or forget you had them in the first place!), but the gifts never leave. Just because you don't use your biceps doesn't mean your biceps go away.
      Throughout your life, the strength of these "spiritual muscles" will be tested. And more importantly, the endurance of the muscles will be tested in trials that last over long periods of time (from days, to weeks, to years). I pray that you will build your faith so it will be strong enough not to be shaken, even in the fiercest trials, and that you can learn how to use your spiritual gifts in mighty ways.