How many times have you looked in the mirror the past day? As women especially, we’re often looking in mirrors. (Male readers, I’m pretty sure this post is relevant to you as well; please keep reading!) I confess, I like staring in the mirror, and especially enjoy seeing it when my radiant face looks back at me. I look into the mirror rather a lot, likely too much. Still, I can often look in the mirror and be happy with what I see. It hasn’t always been that way.

There is quite a lot of comparing to others going on among us. There are many advertisements showing women with perfect skin, and a profusion of images online which all scream “You girl, are not enough!” Likewise, men can also feel insecure about how they look. A while back, at a conference, I felt like God might be leading me to look into the mirror and decide to look differently at myself – to pray and realise that yes, I am beautiful. Perhaps you might need to make the same decision.

There is another image beyond our physical image that we may be working on. It’s our social reputation and our accomplishments, and even the image we have of ourselves. Are you only happy with yourself if you’re perfect? I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I want very much to be liked and to be approved of. I can change my behaviour to do so. Perhaps you have the same thing? I’m also often measuring myself, seeing how far I measure up to certain standards. That’s also, metaphorically, like looking into a mirror.

The word of God is also a mirror. God tells us we’ve been made in His image. He loves us. He wants the best for us. It’s best to build our identity on His unfailing love, and not on anything else! In this spirit of love, He also wants to make us more like Jesus, so He’ll show up some of our faults as well, so we can deal with them. This process can be a bit painful at times. In the end, though, this will lead to freedom if we change our lives accordingly (see James 1:23; Hebrews 12:11).

What mirror do you want to look at?

There’s this part in Exodus where the women of Israel give away their mirrors to help make an important tent of worship: the tabernacle. These women willingly parted with their mirrors. I doubt they had another one, as in those days these items were likely expensive. After giving away these mirrors, these ladies were essentially mirrorless. They had nothing to measure their beauty by.

They gave away mirrors, and went in the direction of worship. Instead of contemplating themselves, they looked at God.

They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. – Exodus 36:6

We can all do with less looking at self and more looking at God! It’s freeing and liberating (as Timothy Keller notes in his book The Art of Self-forgetfulness). No more measuring! Instead, we get to look at the glory of God, who is without bounds!