Set Before His Mirror

2 Corinthians 4:7

New King James Version

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

For meditation

 Yesterday was the Lord’s Day, and many attended anointed church services. Preachers labored to bring out the pure word of God, and we loved it. So, can we take a moment to ask how it changed our lives? Did we have a proper perspective of ourselves in the mirror of His word that came to us? Did we allow the light of God to “shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4: 6)?

When we take the time to look at ourselves from the perspective of the word of God, what we see must humble us. We see our sinfulness beside His holiness, which demands confession and repentance. God’s word penetrates our hearts to reveal our attitudes and intentions—it lays the intentions and motives of our hearts bare before Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews4:12-13). 

Isaiah saw the Lord in His regal setting and cried out in brokenness. He cried out that he lamented his ruin, for, in his sinful state, he had seen the glory of the King, the Lord Almighty (Is. 6:5). 

Isn’t that humbling? No one sees the glory of God and remains the same, yet we forget He dwells in His word to reveal His glory to us, as we come every day expecting to meet Him in intimate fellowship in His word. 

His word is our standard of living. We miss the mark. We deny ourselves the transforming power of the word of God when we do not engage Him in it. The word of God renews our minds and reveals His will to us for a closer walk with Him (Rm. 12:2).

The word of God helps to avoid a distorted view of ourselves, especially when we move in the grace-gifts. As James warns, we must be careful not to walk away from the mirror of His Word and quickly forget what it revealed to us about ourselves (Jas. 1:24). 

We profit by thinking of ourselves with sober judgment (Rm. 12:3) when we access ourselves by the standard of His word to grow by it. And here, it is helpful to remind ourselves that we’re mere jars of clay containing God’s precious gifts (2 Cor. 4:6-7). None of them, including life, is our own—it is pure grace.

May we, therefore, remember that every time we engage God in His word, He reveals who we are and how we look before His watchful eyes. This grace of introspection is excellent at keeping us in step with our Lord Jesus Christ (Heb, 12:1-2). 

So, let this sobering thought humble you before the Holy One, who has endowed you with this gracious treasure beyond human imagination, to build you up and empower you for His glory.

Shalom.