What if I were to tell you that there is an upgrade for your make up mirror--one that fully reflects the truth of who you are, why you are here and what your purpose is. Would you buy it?
But, you may argue, my make up mirroris fine. There are no flaws. It perfectly reflects me. It's the lighting. I need better lighting. Ahh, we will talk about lighting tomorrow. Today, we're talking about your make upmirror.
You see, your make upmirroris flawed. So is mine. I'm not talking about the trick make up mirrorseither that distort your figure. I'm talking about the make up mirror you look into every single day. It is flawed. It only tells part of the story.
So, should you throw it out? No, but you do need to take into account that what you see only gives part of the picture. The other part? Where is it?
Well now, that is what we're going to look at today.
I have a good friend. She completely despises being called every year to volunteer in Vacation Bible School. For years, she volunteered mostly to keep people off her back for she didn't want to be discussed. But she really dreaded the summer and VBS at church. Now she says no. But this isn't about my friend or about VBS. It is about the full story. (BTW, I LOVE to teach in Vacation Bible School! So I am not calling myself a "friend.")
The rest of the story is that someone else took the position and 13 children came to know Christ as their Savior because of her testimony. There was nothing wrong with my friend or her testimony. She just wasn't supposed to take part in that aspect of service. That's all. That make up mirror reflected someone else and not her and her wonderful gifts!
So let's talk about another person. This one grew up with everything she could ever want. Yet, she never could get her fill. So she filled her life with things and people. She never found satisfaction in any of them. Oh, well maybe for awhile she did. But then, emptiness wrapped around her like a blanket of lace. Insubstantial to say the least--dissatisfaction was written all over her.
One day, she met someone who gave her testimony about Christ. She came away changed by the words spoken with both passion and experience.
Christ came and slowly, little by little, began to take away "comforts" from her. Instead of lace, He gave to her soft, down blankets. Yet, she tried to hold onto the lace. She justified that it was just a little something, and it was pretty. She needed it.
Bit by bit, she surrendered the lace. One day, she began to look back at her old comforts. Clearly, she saw what she then lacked. Only looking backward could she have seen that her covering was insubstantial and unfulfilling. She no longer desired it.
She saw a bit more of the make up mirror. Still there was so much left to see.
You see, like that girl, I have traded in more and more of my lace. In fact, I have come to know His covering so well that I am eager to make the exchange! The story He is writing over my life and yours, well...it is a good one. I know that! I know how it ends. It ends well.
But for now, I must learn to walk with only part of the picture. And I must leave the rest of the writing up to Him.
He sees me fully in my make up mirror that needs no upgrade. He knows me! He has a purpose for me. He shows me the way to walk and the direction. Day by day, I trust Him more. I wouldn't trade it for any thing that Bill Gates could buy or any approval that Oprah could give or any notoriety that Oscar would impart. Because in the end, they won't remain rich or popular or powerful.
