The View From Inside The Bag

THE VIEW FROM INSIDE THE BAG

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” – Romans 12:3

My husband and I popped into Starbucks a few weeks back to grab a cup with “The Coffee Boys”— a great group of fellow retirees from my husband’s career days. We grabbed a table outside. It was surrounded on two sides by slightly smoked glass. On the other side of the glass there were tables where people were eating lunch.  I had my back against one wall of glass. The other, perpendicular wall was about six feet away and directly to my right. Behind the glass was a woman sitting in a chair mirroring my position.

Between the glare and the slight smokiness of the glass, I could not clearly see her face, but what WAS clear was that she was thoroughly enjoying her tacos. I glanced over periodically and could see the other woman in her chair.

We sat and had a fun conversation about nothing with The Coffee Boys that day. It wasn’t until one of them got up to get a refill that I caught a bit clearer glimpse of the woman. She was in her late fifties, dark hair in a ponytail and a bit too chubby for the amount of tacos she had eaten and the tall Java Chip Frap that was sitting in front her. She had a slight scowl on her face, which made it all the more shocking to realize that the taco woman had left and I was now looking at my own reflection in the glass. Yes, this really happened.

My goodness how different I looked when I thought the image I was seeing was that of someone else. I was unpleasantly surprised and felt a bit betrayed to see how big of a liar my mirror had been. 

Our minds are good at fooling us. It is part of the underlying problem that feeds anorexia and other eating disorders. Our brain refuses to let us see ourselves as we really are. I had underestimated my girth and was clueless about the expression on my face that I had been presenting to the world.

A technique has been used with eating disorders in the past where they put a person into a dressing room with the lights off. The person is instructed to disrobe down to their under garments and then put a paper bag with eye holes cut out on their heads. When the lights are turned on and they can see themselves in the mirror through the eye holes of the bag, it isn’t uncommon for the person to truly see themselves for the first time. The revelation is often shocking and life-altering. 

It’s that way in our Christian walk as well. We look at ourselves over and over in the mirror. We indulge in copious selfies where we put on our best smile and tilt our chin just right to eliminate that double chin. We don’t see our true condition, though we are convinced we know exactly how we look. 

Scripture says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” – 1 Corinthians 13:12. One day, when we stand before Him, we will see Him, ourselves...everything clearly and without distortion from a skewed perspective. Until then, we need to persist in pursuing the truth about the condition of our hearts.

Even though we may only see through a mirror or smoked glass, we are encouraged to still take it upon ourselves to strip away our garments with which we hide our flaws, peel off the conjured smile, relax our sucked in guts and ask God to help us to take a good, hard look at ourselves in the mirror. 

Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD. — Lamentations 3:40.

Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

If it has been a while since you have truly examined your heart before God, don’t be fooled into thinking that even without effort that you are managing to keep status quo. Much like riding a bicycle, in our walk there is no standing still. We are either moving forward, rolling backward or falling off altogether. Just as if you closed up your house and did not return for five years, when you returned you would find an unmaintained spiritual life with an overgrown yard full of weeds, priceless family treasures covered with dust, a haunted house full of cobwebs and the disappointment of things that have decayed or fallen to the ground and broken due to neglect. 

Make no mistake. What we fail to take care of does not maintain itself. It falls apart.

Heavenly Father, I lift the one reading this right now. These words are hard to read and even harder to do something about. Holy Spirit soften our hearts to heed wise counsel. Put an urgency in our hearts to strip off everything that disguises the truth, so we can see our lives as they truly are. We thank You that there is therefore now no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1), but instead we are offered the gift of conviction. We are convicted in our hearts, because Your Spirit is prompting us that there is hope to change with a heart of repentance. 

Lord, remove the blinders from our eyes the we will see ourselves rightly. Deeply convict us. Bless us with a gift of radical heart change. We can’t do it apart from You (John 15:5), but through Christ Jesus we can do anything (Phil 4:13). Remove our sins that plague us. Lift the complacency that paralyzes us. Still the lying tongue of the enemy that deceives us. And bring us to a new place of wholeness in honesty and  intimacy with You. In Jesus Name ❤️

Beloved, is it time to strip away the facade, bare your soul to God and examine yourself? When you do, you can know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:32). 💡

If you have been encouraged or challenged, please repost and further His kingdom!