Flour was everywhere. It was on the counter, on her hands, on the front of her apron, on her face … and yes, floating in the air. But what did it matter? This was bread-making day and the dough needed to rise. It was time to knead. Back and forth … back and forth …
All of a sudden, she remembered. She had an errand to run that just couldn’t wait. Leaving the dough to rest, she grabbed her keys and rushed out the door. Walking briskly down the sidewalks in town, she couldn’t help but notice how pleasant everyone was today. Everyone smiled at her! “Good morning!” What a great day to be alive. Everyone was clearly enjoying their day.
Taking a few moments to stop and look in a shop window, she caught a reflection of herself. Oh my goodness! Now she realized why everyone was smiling at her! She was still covered in flour, including her face and apron…
Reflections. Usually a true image. Sometimes on glass …. a mirror …. water … metals … shiny objects. But reflections can be distorted if the product is bent. I always loved the curved mirrors at fairs that made me look silly and disproportionate!
I want you to hit “pause.” Stop and think with me. Sometimes when you and I look into a mirror, we don’t see the masterpiece that God created. There is a film that drops down in front of the mirror, composed of comments made to us over the years, hurtful words and unrealistic images promoted through advertisements and unattainable expectations. We see a distorted image looking back at us, calling out to us with “can’t measure up” words and thoughts. Meanwhile, God looks at you and I and sees His magnificent design, created in His image and molded to be just as He planned us to be.
If you and I were able to pull back the curtain and take a peek inside the Tabernacle as it was being built, oh, what our eyes would behold! So many people, and sounds and smells … hammering, wood, building, melting, gold, bronze, molding, carrying, sewing, burning, incense. But look over there! Someone is remembering what God said to Moses… “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing … to wash their hands and feet….” Exodus 30: 18,19 Which bronze should they use? Someone had an idea.
There were several women who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle, and they had donated their polished bronze mirrors. These were personal treasures which these women sacrificed in their service to God. The mirrors were then melted down and used to cover the basin in bronze.
As the priests looked into the basin to wash their hands and feet, they also could see a reflection of who they were … who God had made them to be. They could see their beauty as well as their imperfections… knowing that with hands and feet washed, they were able to safely enter the Holy of Holies.
What about you and I?
God calls us to bring to Him our previously formed images of ourselves and place them on the altar. Allow Him to take them and mold them into something new … a new instrument that He can use in His Kingdom work … blessing us and others.
And then … spend time with Him. Spend time in His Presence, reading His Word, listening to His Voice, worshipping Him and talking to Him. The more time you spend with Him, the more you will become like Him. You will become a clearer reflection to this hurting world of what a loving, Heavenly Father looks like. We’re promised this. As Paul wrote, guided by the Spirit “… we all, with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
Reflections. His image. Transform me.
“Lord, help me to see myself as You see me. Show me, in the mirror of Your Word, how You created me in Your image, as a masterpiece of precise design … to be used by You and bring glory to Yourself. Cleanse my thoughts of all distorted images and lies while filling my mind with Your truth. Mold me and use me as an instrument to bless others. In the Holy Name of Jesus… “