Mirror, mirror on the wall ... Familiar words from a familiar tale. A woman, consumed with envy, repeatedly checking her magic mirror to see if she is beautiful enough. A caricature maybe. But she is not alone. Women, it seems, are particularly bad at seeing themselves as they truly are.
And that is something that has been borne out by a little experiment conducted by multinational company, Dove. They asked a series of women to describe themselves to a forensic artist - someone used to sketching faces from oral descriptions. Then, they asked someone else who had met the women to describe them to the same artist. Two sketches of each woman resulted - one as described by the woman herself; one described by an acquaintance. And what a difference there was!
Time after time, women described themselves as ugly, stern, wrinkled or with out-of-proportion features. The others described the women as beautiful, relaxed, youthful. It's a fascinating video - one that can be watched here. The stark reality is that we do not tend to see ourselves as we really are.
Of course it is concerning that we tend to see ourselves as physically less beautiful than others see us. But there is another self-image that is far more important. One that we find it equally easy to pervert. And one that no soap or cosmetic company can address. It's the way we view our status as Christians.
Some of us struggle with self-righteousness. That secret pride in the "fact" that we're not that bad really. Of course, we're sinners but our sins are quite small compared with those around us. We've told a few lies, had some moments of anger but nothing out of the ordinary. We've never murdered or committed adultery or abused a child. When we look in the mirror we consider our sin, our small sins, not too terrible at all.
On the other hand, far too many of us sing of forgiveness and reconciliation on a Sunday but on Monday feel condemned, ashamed and alone. We don't see ourselves as God sees us, in Christ. We are so conscious of our sins that we don't let go of the guilt. We reject the teaching that we are washed whiter than snow, benefiting from the righteousness Christ pours out on to us. Our mirror is dark and dismal.
Neither image is true. Neither path is helpful. But neither is irreversible. In whatever way we tend to distort our own image, the solution is the same. To return to the cross and to return there every day.
If we see our sins as small, we need to gaze upon our suffering saviour: humiliated, bleeding, dying for the "little things" we've done. We need to see the enormity of our disobedience. The depth of rejection of our precious King. As we survey the horrifying death caused by our sins, there we will see ourselves as the rebels we truly are.
If we see our sins as too big, we must remember who died in our place. No charlatan. No hoaxer. But God himself. And when he does a job, he does it well. His atonement is enough for our sins - whatever their magnitude - to be removed as far as the east is from the west. When Jesus cried, "it is finished" - he really meant it. There is now no condemnation. None. None at all.
As we gaze at the cross we see ourselves as we truly are. Terrible rebels who are utterly adored; depraved sinners who are completely forgiven. And because of Jesus, that image is profoundly beautiful.
For more on these issues, why not check out: Compared to Her (UK and US) or Mirror Mirror (UK only).
