Proverbs 27:19: It's Time for Reflection!

"As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflect the man." Proverbs 27:19

When's the last time you looked in the mirror? I'm not talking about a quick glance, but a full-on inspection of your own face. In other words, when is the last time you really looked in the mirror? When is the last time you counted your freckles, made sure your eyes were still the same color you have listed on your driver's licence, and checked to make sure no more wrinkles had formed?* Perhaps it has been a while, or perhaps you have never done this. But the real question this morning is this: when's the last time looked that closely into the mirror of your spiritual life?

In the proverb quoted above, Solomon speaks of how a man's heart reflects who he truly is, just like calm water in a lake (or a mirror in our bathroom) reflects our face when we look at it. In other words, just as Lake Geneva on a breezeless** day perfectly reflects the image of all of the trees surrounding it, so does your heart perfectly reflect who you truly are. Scary, is it not? So, who truly are you?

What Solomon is trying to get at in this proverb is that we all ought to regularly spend time in reflection. If my heart reflects who I truly am, then I surely ought to gaze at my heart more often to find the areas in which I can improve. Therefore, the question remains: who truly am I? Now, when I ask this question, I am not speaking of God-given spiritual identity. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that all believers are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession," and none of that is changing no matter what is reflected in your heart, that is if you are truly a child of God. However, what I am speaking of here is sanctification (that is, the process of becoming more like Christ). Even though those who are in Christ are dead to sin and it therefore no longer defines or identifies them (Romans 6), sin still lives in them, and that sin must be dealt with (Romans 7). Therefore, we must, on a regular basis, inspect our hearts. We must weekly, if not daily, reflect upon what is reflected to us in the spiritual mirrors of our hearts. If we cease to do so, we are surely on a path for destruction.

So, who are you? Are you a child of God, saved and fully justified by his mercy and grace? Perhaps. But even if you are, you still need to reflect. The spiritual life is not a one-and-done; it requires follow-through. In order to hit a homerun, a baseball player doesn't stop his bat the second he hits the ball; he follows through. Do the same in your spiritual life, so that you can nock your sanctification out of the park.*** So, take some time to reflect on what sins are still showing up in your heart. Like a man taking the time to count his freckles in the mirror, take time in your spiritual life to see what sins perhaps have slipped into your peripheral vision, and destroy them. Amen!

*For my feminine readers, I do realize that you may perhaps do this every day when you apply makeup. If so, that's great, but realize that men (at least normal men) don't do this on a regular basis.

**If that's not a word, it is now.

***Is this a pun or an analogy? Nobody knows!