The problem with mirrors

Tulip image courtesy of Twiggy Posts

Only your Creator can tell you who you are. This is the truth that's been ringing in my ears lately.

Did you know a mirror is just piece of glass coated on one side with reflective metal? A mirror reflects your outward image, but it can't give you any information about: 

who you are.
what you were made to do.
what's important and valuable about you.
your worth.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

Stare long and hard, but your mirror can't define these things. 

Let God define what's beautiful about you.

"Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear--but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands," (1 Peter 3:3-5 ESV) 

What's does God say is beautiful in His sight?

Your spirit. The hidden person of the heart that the mirror can't reflect. This is the place where God chooses to dwell by His Spirit, producing in you gentleness and quietness. I don't think this is necessarily about volume, but about a spirit submitted to His.

I think God loves the work He's about in His creations because it brings Him glory. If you belong to Him, He loves the changes that are happening in your heart. He loves the way you're growing and changing. He loves the work He gets to do through you as you go about your day (see this post about that!). 

If we're going to fuss over something friends, let's fuss about our spirits, not our fashion (although I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying fashion. The issue is what our hearts are attached to). 

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21 ESV)

Let's lead our spirits again and again back into slavery to His. When we see we're wrong, let's repent and mourn and cling to the One who made us right at the cross.

I'm going to do my best to obey God and take care of this body I was given until God gives me a new one free of sin and sickness. 

But this body is not who I am. 

I'm getting white hair and my shape is totally different than it was when I was 20. Any beauty I once had will continue to fade. If my hope and my identity are there, I will despair.

But if I place my hope in God, along along with the long lineage of beautiful women of the past, my identity rests on His unchanging grace and love for me.

PRAYING the Word
I pray that God will continue to cultivate the beauty of my heart, and that I would value that beauty more than any other.

QUESTIONS to ask about the verses:

1. The beauty God loves is hidden in our hearts. What does that mean for how we see the people around us?
2. Think about this beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Who are some people in your life who are beautiful in this way?

3. How can we help grow this kind of beauty in our hearts?

Today's printable Bible coloring page is from 1 Peter 3:3-4! You can download your page here or by clicking on the image below!*

*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! All artwork and photos are copyright Marydean Draws. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy,  please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!

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