Mirror, mirror what do you see?

Jeremiah 17: As Christians, the ones who have chosen “the Way,” we often are reminded about the deceitfulness of our hearts. Indeed, as Jeremiah reflects, our hearts are known by God. But the world system comes alongside and seeks to hide our sin from us which never will be hidden from the eyes of God. We say, but we do not do. We are like the man from James who looks into the mirror and then walks away, forgetting what he has seen. [James 1:23-24] Ray Stedman once wrote: “Do we cling to the myth of our own perfectibility, or do we reckon our old self crucified with Christ…?” That is the real question before us this day. Paul reflected on this in the letter to the Galatians: “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” [Gal 6:3]

Jeremiah speaks to the man observing himself. Listen, Beloved, the man in the mirror is each one of us, and the mirror never lies. While a mirror only sees the outside, God sees the inner man. The inner man’s heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and God not only sees it but knows it. [Jer 17:9-10] To change, we must immerse ourselves in the Word daily. Then as Jeremiah and the Psalmist say, we will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, which spreads its roots, and the leaf will be green nor ceases producing fruit. [Jer 17:7 & Ps 1]

Mirror mirror on the wall; what do you see today?