God’s mirror lets us look at ourselves

None of us can see our own errors;
deliver me, LORD, from hidden faults!
Keep me safe, also, from wilful sins;
don’t let them rule over me.
Then I shall be perfect
and free from the evil of sin. (verses 12,13)

Read Psalm 19:7-14

When God led my wife and me to serve him in Ialibu in Papua New Guinea, he put us among a people that at that time were still living in the Stone Age. Even such an everyday thing as a mirror was quite unknown to them. They had seen other people’s faces but had never seen their own. Mirrors, therefore, were highly prized by them, and we enjoyed sharing mirrors with them.

It’s very much like that with you. You can see the faults in others but you can’t see your own – that is, until God gives you his mirror, the law. This mirror lets you have a good look at yourself. It shows up your sin and your sinful ways.

God gave the psalm writer a true picture of himself. Like him, you also have been shown your sin and your need for the Saviour. Jesus alone is perfect, and he has both the power and the authority to make you to be like him. He does this by forgiving you. That’s how you become perfect.

Thank you, Jesus, for showing me my sins and my need for you as my Saviour. Forgive me, and free me from all that is evil within me. Yes, make me more like you. Amen.

by Len Tscharke, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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