Advent 7 - The Man in the Mirror

DAY 7 - Starting With the Man in the Mirror
2 Corinthians 7:8-10

How do you typically get ready to meet someone? I look in the mirror like most others do. That’s what John the Baptist is - a mirror. His raw personality confronts us with truth.

We see ourselves when we look in a mirror. We don’t see what we hope to see, we see ourselves as we really are. We see the good. We see the bad. Physically, we see our unique beauty to amplify. We see the eagerness of youth or the dignity of age. We also see our bedhead. We see the broccoli stuck in our teeth. We see blemishes to treat. When we look at ourselves spiritually, we see virtue but we also see vice. We see our moral failures side by side with our moral victories.

John’s message is “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (1:4, NIV). Hes a mirror for change. “Repent” means change or turn, turning from one thing to another. We see what needs to be changed when we look at ourselves in a mirror.

“Repent” leaves a bad taste in our mouths. To some, it sounds like Christians have a checklist, scanning people over at the church door, making sure they qualify to get in. “Repent” implies we’ve got something we shouldn’t have. Instead of focusing on what needs to change, shouldn’t we focus on what’s good? Shouldn’t we practice self-acceptance, build self-esteem?

Of course we celebrate what’s good but not by lying to ourselves about the bad parts that need corrected. Some things need to change. Some things need to die. We know it’s true if we look at any other part of our lives. We know we can’t just look at what’s good. We have to look at what’s bad, too, so it can be fixed.

That self-examination feels bad in the moment but turns out to be good. It’s “the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10, NLT). Think about the results of a good look in the mirror. When we make a good impression. When we lose a selfish desire. When we break a bad habit.

That’s when we see God’s gifts. That’s when we’re sure that repentance is a gift, not a grief.

REFLECT
What is your gut-level reaction to repentance? Good? Bad? Think about your impressions of repentance today.

PRAY
Merciful God, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN.