{"id":54,"date":"2011-08-29T15:58:50","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T21:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/?p=54"},"modified":"2013-01-17T23:18:14","modified_gmt":"2013-01-18T06:18:14","slug":"mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/archives\/54","title":{"rendered":"Mirror"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to my blog,\u00a0ROLLED SCROLL, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible to unearth God’s meaning in His pattern of usage.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 MIRROR<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cMirror, mirror, on the wall, who\u2019s the fairest one of all?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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The vain queen preened before her looking-glass, sure of the answer. She was enraged when the mirror revealed that her stepdaughter, Snow White, surpassed her in beauty. The mythical queen knew mirrors don\u2019t lie\u2014a reality I suspect irritates you as much as it does me when I spot my own physical imperfections!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The mirror is a motif appearing, as well, in the Bible\u2014albeit only half a dozen times. But its use is significant and worth examination by anyone interested in narrative. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Ancient mirrors were made of bronze, a mixed metal of mostly copper that could be highly polished (Exod. 38:8<\/span><\/span>; Job 37:18<\/span><\/span>). The first-century city of Corinth was famous for its bronze mirrors, but even they were susceptible to tarnish, as the apostle Paul knew:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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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 <\/em>(1 Cor. 13:12 NIV<\/em>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Paul was illustrating that God was not clearly understood in his day, for several New Testament books weren\u2019t yet written, nor was Scripture collected together until the second century. But the fogginess of the mirror was only temporary; a time was coming, Paul said, when the written reflection of God to us would be complete and finished. Today the Bible is<\/em> complete, the direct revelation of God that shines back a clear image of Himself. You and I can see God\u2019s glory and be progressively transformed into His image the more we look into the untarnished Word (2 Cor.3:18<\/span><\/span>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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My usual narcissistic purpose in glancing into a mirror is to check out my makeup and wipe away any smudge of mascara. Our purpose in gazing intently into the mirror of God\u2019s Word is to see His perfect character and make corrections so that our lives match up to His expectations (James 1:23-25<\/span><\/span>). Studying Scripture is how we know what we \u201clook like\u201d in a spiritual sense.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The looking-glass of the Bible is a record of God\u2019s very words written down as an everlasting witness\u2014not merely human \u201cwisdom\u201d but inspired truth (Deut. 18:18<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 19:7-11<\/span><\/span>; Rom. 3:1-2<\/span><\/span>; 1 Cor. 2:13<\/span><\/span>; 2 Tim. 3:16-17<\/span><\/span>). When mankind was in a dark place, God \u201cturned on the light\u201d by speaking to us through Scripture, opening the eyes of our hearts\u2014giving the light of understanding to illuminate what was formerly hidden to us (2 Pet. 1:19-21<\/span><\/span>; Ps. 19:8<\/span><\/span>; 1 Cor. 2:6-12<\/span><\/span>). When we believe, apply, and embrace what we read in the Bible, the Holy Spirit gives us further insight into the written Word and thereby guides us in right faith and conduct (John 14:23-26<\/span><\/span>). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Of course, when Jesus walked the earth He Himself was the very \u201cradiance of God\u2019s glory and the exact representation of His being\u201d (Heb. 1:3 NIV). Yet even He submitted to the Bible\u2019s authority (Matt. 4:1-10<\/span><\/span>). But now that Jesus is physically absent, the Bible\u2014like a top-quality mirror\u2014brings us His presence; the Word of God is true and powerful (John 17:17<\/span><\/span>; John 10:35<\/span><\/span>; John 21:24<\/span><\/span>; Heb. 4:12<\/span><\/span>). We\u2019re warned not to close our eyes against His reflection in the Scriptures (Heb. 3:7-8<\/span><\/span>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Snow White\u2019s evil stepmother had a truth-speaking mirror\u2014as far as outward beauty goes. But God\u2019s mirror of revelation, the Holy Bible, shows us His glory and our state in terms of eternity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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*<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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To comment on this reading, or to subscribe or unsubscribe to a monthly email reminder of new postings, please write me: <\/span>deb@rolledscroll.com<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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These short literary articles tied to the Bible are intended to explore what God might have been saying in His pattern of usage for each symbol. English rendition of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek varies with translations (for example, \u201cscroll\u201d is sometimes interchangeable with \u201cbook\u201d); however, the visual quality and underlying meaning of the selected emblem remain consistent across versions.\u00a0Sketches are\u00a0by Lorenda Harder.<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Welcome to my blog,\u00a0ROLLED SCROLL, where I follow cultural and literary images found in the Bible to unearth God’s meaning in His pattern of usage.\u00a0   \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 MIRROR   \u201cMirror, mirror, on the wall, who\u2019s the fairest one of all?\u201d The vain queen preened before her looking-glass, sure of the answer. She was enraged … Mirror<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions\/64"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rolledscroll.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}