When I hear the words, "Mirror, mirror," I am reminded of the classic fairytale, "Snow White." I am sure most of us can recall the words of the evil queen who asked, "Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of us all?"

God in Exodus 30:17-21 instructed Moses to make a bronze basin for Aaron and his sons to wash in. In Exodus 30:18 we read, "Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it."

So, what does the queen's "magic" mirror and God instructing Moses to make a bronze basin have in common? The answer to this question, I believe, can be found in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 36:5-7 we read about the Children of Israel who when called upon to build the sanctuary of God they had to be instructed by Moses to stop giving. My pastor, one Sunday, jokingly said the women really sacrificed a lot for they even gave up their mirrors. His comments peaked my curiosity and thus I felt a need to search the Bible for my own "magic" mirror verses. In Exodus 38:8 we read, "They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."

God's word really is a lot of fun to read and study especially when He opens our eyes and hearts to understand and receive His eternal truths. A mirror portrays or reflects back that which looks into it. Snow White's evil stepmother consulted her mirror much like many of us do today. We look merely on the outward or physical appearance. In 1 Samuel 16:7 we read, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." God looks upon the inner beauty and in Genesis 1:27 we are told God created us in His image.

It is sad, but many in the world today fail to make or find a connection between hearing the word of God and applying it to their lives. In James 1:22-24 we read, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." We are called to not only hear the word of God, but are to apply it to our lives. Or as the King James version translates James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

How do we view ourselves? Do we see ourselves as men and women who are sons and daughters of the Almighty God? Or do other descriptions and images come to mind? Do we care more about what others say and how they view us rather than what God's word says about us? When others look at us, do they see Jesus?

We need to quit looking at ourselves through "carnival" mirrors, which reflect distorted images portraying false senses of reality. May we begin to see clearly and ask God to reveal to us how He sees us. May we, as my pastor says, "Get rid of the stinking thinking." For just as the women's mirrors were transformed and reshaped into the bronze basin, we too are being transformed daily into the image of Christ, Jesus. (See 2 Corinthians 3:18).

In 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 we read, "Now we see but a poor 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. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." My prayer is that we would begin to see ourselves as Christ sees us. And that we would become mirrors for Christ, men and women, who reflect His love upon this dark and evil world. Amen.