When I look at myself in the mirror, I used to wonder how many ways I could change myself to be better and look better in the eyes of the world.
When I look at myself in the mirror, I started to see that I wasn't beautiful, not when there is someone who conquered the grave, not when there is someone who lived a spotless life, blameless..not marred by the sins of this world.
Now when I look in the mirror, I try to see what you found in me that was worth bearing the weight of my sin, bearing the sins of this world. I try to look past the person who may be beautiful in the eyes of the world, but ugly with the sin painted across my face.
I see my sin everytime I face myself with the truth, but I'm sure you see it too.
Why do you look past that?
Here's the truth, when I continue to look at myself the way you see me, I see a new world of opportunity. There's something freeing about that. Even when I fail, the closer I pull towards you the more I continue to form into your image. A child of Christ. I won't forget what it looks like. It's beautiful, not because of who I'm seeing on the surface, but because of the completeness of the work of my Savior in me. This complete person, stays within the confines of my bathroom mirror, and the more I roam the world the more I forget what he looks like. One day, I won't forget what he looks like. One day, I won't have to remind myself every morning of the man I'm meant to be. I will always remember what it looks like to call myself a follower of Christ. A child of the Father who was, and is, and is to come.
Here's another truth. I'd rather spend my days hating the ugliness of sin within me than emulating the beauty that man renders sufficient because the beauty of man isn't sufficient. A body is vacant, a corpse,without the completeness of christ. To edify the ways of this world is a never ending tragedy-a war of want, to edify the Spirit of Christ within you is a divine romance-a conquest of the human condition.
