“Right, let me set the camera to 0.5 wide-angle so I can get everyone in. OK, smile”. It’s then that the laughter explodes when we see the photo. The wide-angle view has caused those seated nearer the front to instantly double in girth, with hilarious effect. It reminded me of the mirrors you sometimes find that distort how you look, also causing lots of LOLs. But the mirror that causes the least laughter are those that have no distortion. It’s then when we can’t blame the wide angle or the distorted mirror, that we avoid looking too closely. In fact, our modern digital mirrors – our phones – have filters we can automatically apply to “enhance”’ us – smooth the wrinkles – tone the face – mask the extra chins. And somehow, we feel better. Yet, there is one mirror that doesn’t apply filters or distort our reality. And that is God’s Word. God invites us to see ourselves clearly, from his perspective – and then live life authentically. “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23-24). Open God’s Word and see the real you, and then let Jesus apply his filter on your life and create the most amazing version of you imaginable (2 Corinthians 3:18).
