A Look in the Mirror

"In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything
against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who
judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before
the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness
and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive
his commendation from God." 1 Corinthians 4:4-5

Take your time and read that again. Really... I'll wait right here.

It is so easy to look around this world and see so much wrong. Let's bring it closer to us...how about looking at your family, friends, and co-workers. We can see their faults and their sins. (at least the outside ones) However, these verses are not about them. It is about me and you.

It's about looking at that person staring back at you from the mirror. It's easy to look at the person and think, "oh, I'm a nice person" or "I try" or what ever words you might think. Just remember, we cannot judge ourselves. We always want to be...strive to be... something better than we are. It's like you really don't know what you look like until you see yourself in pictures and you think, "that isn't me!" It's easy to glance at our reflection and gloss over everything we've done and believe in our innocence. After all, those thoughts I was thinking didn't hurt anyone. That joke I told didn't hurt anyone either. I can look back at my day and realize that I was kind to others and didn't hurt anyone ~ that means I'm innocent right??

But, God ~ He knows us inside and out. He knows out thoughts and our intentions. God will bring forth all that we keep hidden underneath our plastic smiles. All of those things that we hide will be brought into the light. Not to say that only the bad things will have the spotlight. Our good will be there too. God knows not only what we are doing but why we are doing them. The 'why' is so important. Even the greatest charity, given for the wrong reason, loses value. Since we are humans, we will fall short. We are so selfish by nature. So much of our time is given to what we want and need instead of others. Luckily, we have a Savior that loves us despite our many faults. That is when Jesus steps in and says, "he is mine."