"Mirror, Mirror on the wall . . ."

When you look into the mirror, what do you see . . . honestly?

I can speak only for myself, but most of the time I do not see anything positive. Physically, I see scar after scar after scar.  There aren't too many places on my body that are not scarred.  I also see rejection, loneliness, pain, fatigue, weariness . . . age/ worry/prayer lines crease my face.  Spiritually . . . honestly . . . I see failure, incompetence, confusion, etc. 

Most days, honestly, I just want to give up.  Life just keeps getting harder and harder.

Thank God, this is NOT what God sees.  What God sees is the only thing keeping me going.  

What do I see in His eyes?

Grace, grace, and more grace - extravagant, generous grace.

What is grace? 

The EMPOWERING presence of God which ENABLES me to be all He called me to be and to do all He destined me to do.

Grace is my clothing, my cocoon.

Every day, sometimes many times during the day, I have to -  no, I must discard what I see in the mirror and clothe myself in His grace. I CANNOT live without His grace.  I CANNOT live without His presence.  Without Him, I am doomed to be what I see in the mirror.

God loves lists, especially lists of names.  I do not - usually.  However, there is a list in Matthew 1 that I am fond of - Jesus' lineage. What I love in this list is the mention of a few women's names:  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

• Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah. Her first husband Er died because he was wicked. Judah told his son Onan to marry Tamar as the law required.  But Onan, who did have intercourse with Tamar, refused to impregnate her which God considered wicked. So, God took Onan's life too. Judah told Tamar to return to her parents' home, remain a widow, and wait for the youngest son to grow up. Judah, however, really did not intend to have the youngest marry Tamar.  Eventually, Judah's wife dies.  Tamar took matters into her own hands and removed her widow's attire replacing it with the clothes of a prostitute. Then she slept with her father-in-law and became pregnant.  When Judah discovered Tamar's pregnancy, he demanded she be killed.  However, his payment to her - his identification seal - vindicated her and caused him to repent.  
• Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho.  Realizing that her city would soon be conquered by the Israelites, she took a risk and protected Joshua's spies which saved her family.  After Jericho fell, her life was spared.  She later married Salmon, the great-great-great grandfather of King David.
• Ruth was a widow and the daughter-in-law of Naomi.  She left her homeland and traveled back to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law whom she loved.  There they lived in poverty until Naomi came up with a plan to provide for Ruth which involved marrying her kinsman, Boaz who was the great-great-grandfather of King David.
• We all know Bathsheba's story.  She was the mother of Solomon.

These women suffered poverty, rejection, humiliation, hopelessness, grief, and loneliness.  Plus, they were women and not Jewish.  (I'm not sure about Bathsheba's origin.)  Their stories labeled them.  When they looked in the mirror, I imagine they saw "widow . . . barren . . . foreigner . . . whore . . . homeless . . . adulterer . . ." among other things.

Society discounted them, yet God used them in the extraordinary lineage of Jesus.

God's grace was stronger than their past, than their mistakes, than their labels.   His grace gave them incredible strength and wisdom and endurance, and they faithfully used what He had given them and became an honored part of Jesus' history.

Each one of us has been gifted in this way.  None of us are untalented or worthless, and we are responsible for what we have been given (Matthew 25: 14-30).  

What do you see in your mirror?  What is your wallet?

Don't exchange your heavenly identity for the "labels."  Don't get stuck there.  We once were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord.  Dare to see yourself as God sees you, for He makes all things new.