Love Day #14: The Mirror’s Secret

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” — 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

THE JOURNEY

My Aunt Claire was the most “radiant” person I ever knew. It wasn’t that she was physically perfect; she had wrinkles around her eyes and silver in her hair. But she had a certain glow that made people want to be near her. She was patient when others were angry. She was calm when the world was falling apart.

When I was twenty, I stayed with her for a month. I wanted to find out her secret. I thought maybe she took special vitamins or did a specific type of yoga.

I began to watch her habits. Every morning, before the sun was fully up, I would see the glow of a small lamp under her door. She wasn’t working. She wasn’t scrolling on her phone. She was just sitting in her armchair with her Bible and a cup of tea, whispering to God.

“What are you doing in there for two hours every morning?” I finally asked her.

“I’m just looking at Him, honey,” she smiled. “I’m telling Him I love Him. And I’m letting Him tell me He loves me.”

By the third week of my stay, something strange happened. I went to a coffee shop in town, and the barista, who knew my aunt, looked at me and said, “You must be Claire’s niece. You have that same way of tilting your head when you listen. You even sound like her.”

I realized that by spending just three weeks in her presence, I was accidentally picking up her mannerisms. I was reflecting her without even trying.

Aunt Claire laughed when I told her. “That’s exactly how it works with the Lord,” she said. “If you spend all your time looking at the news, you’ll look like the news—anxious and loud. If you spend your time looking at your own flaws, you’ll look like your flaws—defeated and grey. But if you love Him enough to keep your eyes fixed on Him, His beauty starts to rub off on you. You don’t have to ‘try’ to be holy. You just have to stay in the Light until you start to glow.”

Heart of the Matter

There is a psychological truth that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. There is a spiritual truth that we become like the God we worship.

In 2 Corinthians 3:18, the word “contemplate” or “behold” means to look into a mirror. In the ancient world, mirrors were made of polished bronze. If you wanted to see clearly, you had to stand directly in the light.

Here is the dynamic: You love God by fixing your gaze on Him. You choose to “behold” His beauty, His kindness, and His word more than you behold your problems or your social media feed. He loves you back by transforming you. He doesn’t just change your behavior; He changes your nature. He rubs off on you. He replaces your “sharp edges” with His gentleness. He restores the “image of God” in you that life has blurred.

Transformation is not a work of the will; it is a work of the gaze. You provide the attention; He provides the alteration.

Faith in Action

What has had your attention lately? Whatever you look at most is what you will begin to reflect.

The Challenge: Identify the “Dark Mirror” in your life (the thing that makes you feel anxious, angry, or ugly when you look at it). For every minute you spend looking at the “Dark Mirror” today, spend two minutes looking at the “Golden Mirror” (God’s character).

• Read a Psalm.
• Listen to a worship song.
• Look at a sunset and say, “Lord, You made that. You are beautiful.”

Watch how your mood—and your “glow”—changes by the end of the day.

Prayer for the Day

Lord of Glory, I confess that I have been looking at the wrong things. I have become a reflection of my worries and my frustrations. Today, I turn my face toward You. I choose to love You by giving You my undivided attention. As I behold Your kindness, let it soften my heart. As I behold Your peace, let it calm my nerves. Rub off on me, Lord. I want to look like You. Amen.

LOVE Note

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” — Marcus Aurelius (How much more so when those thoughts are of Christ!)