Ever try to examine yourself or anything else with a very dusty mirror?

I did– saw it was useless– and cleaned the mirror!

It’s a face-sized, handheld mirror, and I was using it to examine the back of my hair. When it was dusty (shows how often I use it, haha), I couldn’t see clearly, and couldn’t see any detail.

But when I cleaned it, everything came into clear and detailed view– including things I would rather not have seen (such as gray hairs)!

Which got me thinking– as the Lord’s life-lesson analogies always do…

👁~If we want to get clarity and complete understanding— on life, on ourselves, on others– we need to DAILY allow the Holy Spirit to clean our hearts– through:

  • Revealing what needs cleaning—

        “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious           thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the           way everlasting. (Ps. 139:23-24). 

        In other words, He does the revealing, so we can do the dealing.

  • Confession— that is, acknowledgement:

~“I did this wrong thing I shouldn’t have.” 

~“I didn’t do this right and helpful thing I should have.”

~“I said this stupid/awful thing that hurt someone.”

~“I’ve been thinking stinking thoughts that are producing bad attitudes in me, and causing me to say those things that hurt people and relationships!”

Thankfully the Lord promises us—“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn. 1:9)

  • Repentance—This means change our mind, and as a result, our action.  For example—every time we’re going down the road and realize we’re going the wrong direction!  What do we do? Do we say, “might as well keep going this way—I’ve already started this direction.”?!

Any of us with good sense will:

~STOP

~Turn around—completely

~Not just sit there facing the right direction, but MOVE—actually go in the right direction—in order to make progress toward the right destination.

The realizing is the confession part and beginning of repentance.  The rest is the carrying-out of repentance.  On the road, and in life.

That’s why Mat. 3:8 tells us “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”  Or, as the old saying goes, “The proof is in the pudding.”

Seeing, confessing, and repenting “cleans the mirror”. THEN we’ll have the clarity we need to:


💪—Experience personal growth.
🙋‍–Relate better to God and others
🙋‍–Lead ourselves and others better
🙋‍–Make the impact we want to make in this world

~Sure, a dusty mirror is nice when we don’t want to see any unappealing details in our appearance.

~And a “dusty heart” is nice when we don’t want to see anything that needs correcting or improving in our character!

BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THE REALITY ISN’T THERE!  It’s like the child who covers their eyes hoping they’re hidden from those around them, and/or that makes those others go away.

But the reality remains. And it does affect us. So we might as well get clarity so we can deal with it and change!

Are you ready to dust off your “mirror” and get clarity and a better life?