June 8, 2009
What do you do when you first get up in the morning? If you’re like the majority of most men, you head for the bathroom. Now, we all have different priorities at this stage of the game, but at some point in the next few minutes of the day you probably look into the mirror. Am I right? You look at your face – you think about how you’re getting old, or fat, or how you need a haircut, or what a hassle it is to have to shave every day – who knows. The point is this: all of us typically look into the mirror at the beginning of the day.
You need to realize that the mirror only enables you to see two things: yourself and what is behind you. Interesting…
On the other hand, a window is a little different. Our family has the privilege of living in an incredibly beautiful part of the world – lakes, mountains, forests, vineyards, orchards, etc. Our home is situated on a mountainside with a commanding view of Okanagan Lake, the valley, the mountains, forests and the city in the distance. When I look out the window I can not see myself, or what is behind me. However, I do see a much bigger world than the view my mirror affords me. I see the wonder of Gods’ creation. I see the miracle of mountains, the sun, the stars, the clouds, wind, rain, snow, trees, the lake, lawn, shrubs, flowers – things too numerous to mention, but all bigger than me and my world. They speak of a God much greater than I am.
It is important for us, on a daily basis, to look – metaphorically speaking – out the window and not in the mirror. We need to choose to look at who God is and not to focus on ourselves and our own limitations. Too easily we concentrate on ourselves, on our limitations, on our shortcomings and on our past. We need to set our hearts on who God is – His greatness, His glory, His love, His life, His truth, His heart toward us and this world.
Don’t start the day by looking at yourself, your resources, your limitations, your failures, your past mistakes, past patterns – the way things have always been. You will never be enough. He will always be more than enough.
Look out the window, not the mirror.
Colossians 3:1, 2
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Strength and courage,
David MacLean