I was talking with a good friend last night and we got to talking about reflections. We were talking on the phone and her dog started barking at her mirror and we concluded he must be barking at his own reflection. Then we began thinking about how difficult it is to understand the concept of a reflection and how the only way we understood was by wiser adults explaining it to us. Her dog obviously did not have someone to explain it to him. And I now wonder if I and we as a whole truly appreciate what we see in our own reflections.

First and foremost, our reflection represents how we perceive ourselves. Think about it, we have no physical concept of ourselves outside of what we see in our reflections. It is a representation of what we see in ourselves and how we value and maintain that. Our reflection is the first impression of who I am and how I’m feeling most mornings as I’m shuffling about the house in a sleepy daze. However, I see it everyday (I’d say that’s true for most of us) and so I don’t pay much attention to it anymore.

Reflections are also the way others perceive us and vice versa. We meet people everyday and the first metric we use in determining our impression of them is how they look. Women are amazing at this, as the description is almost excruciatingly detailed, but it is nothing more than our reflection. While this makes sense, it’s not something I take into consideration often enough. Our reflection can mean the difference between a deep, meaningful conversation and a brushing over. We don’t need to let this hinder others’ impressions of us when our lives are meant to be social.

Reflections go deeper and provide a window into our souls. We’re going deep here and our reflections provide the tip of that iceberg. A reflection can tell whether someone is rejoicing or brokenhearted. Our reflections give subtle clues about what is important to us in the deepest levels. They provide hints about where we are spiritually and emotionally. However, we need to be mindful of what we are shining this daylight.

No, I’m not saying that we need to solely focus on the exterior, but highlighting the fact that what is inside will manifest itself in our external. If we are trying to carry the message of the Gospel, people must first incur our exteriors before they can get a real picture of what is inside our hearts. So, in that case, why should we be ignorant in our hindering the spreading of this good news? When you look at yourself and when others look at you they should see a heart sold to the Savior of the world.

Reflections are far more telling than we think, even down to what is in our souls. They provide to others a glimpse of what is inside as a manifestation on our exterior. Reflections also show our self-perception and worth. If a significant majority of the information we take in is visual, shouldn’t we be more concerned with this as messengers of Jesus Christ’s salvation?

When people look at you, when you look at you, is it Christ that is seen and His work in your life, or do they just see another person confused like the rest?