Honest Reflection
Have you ever been honest with Jesus?
When was the last time you had to address issues in your life and cry out to Jesus? The holiday season can be challenging for everyone. You may enter the holiday season without a loved family member for the first time. Maybe you are facing financial issues and are concerned about how you will afford a nice turkey on Thanksgiving or presents under the Christmas tree. You may feel it is hard to be thankful when your world spirals out of control. How can you have Christmas joy when you feel defeated and burdened?
The holiday season is tough. Social media posts are filled with smiling faces and happy families. It is a beautiful sight, but it can dishearten those struggling to keep the joy in their family. Some people even say that the end of the year marks the beginning of their seasonal depression.
Whatever feelings you have right now, know that you need to be honest with what you see.
Sometimes, looking at ourselves in the mirror is helpful when we let it. Mirrors give us an honest reflection of what is around us and show us how we will appear. You may look at yourself in the mirror and stare into your eyes, knowing they are looking at someone who is hurt and defeated. You may look at yourself and find peace with who you are. Then, we get an honest reflection of what is around us.
What is your honest reflection? What is surrounding you in life when you look at an honest reflection?
It is wise to be honest about what we see and what is happening in our lives. Did you know the Bible gives us an honest reflection of Jesus? The Bible reminds us of Jesus's humble, obedient, loving, gracious, merciful, and forgiving character. It is Jesus who calls out for the weary to come to Him. An example of an honest reflection in the Bible is in John 4:16-18 with the story of the woman at the well. Jesus spoke to the woman as she prepared to draw out some water.
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
The woman, not knowing she was talking to the promised Messiah, admitted that she had no husband. Jesus not only affirmed her honesty but addressed the whole situation. The woman was honest with Jesus in this moment. She had to humbly admit she was not living an obedient life to God. But Jesus already knew this.
Whether you find yourself like the woman at the well and must admit to Jesus that your honest reflection is a disobedient life, or you are entering the holiday season struggling to find reasons to be thankful and filled with joy, take confidence that Jesus knows your honest reflection. Yet, he showed grace to the woman at the well. It was to this adulterous woman that Jesus revealed He is the promised Messiah (John 4:26).
In those honest reflections, Jesus invites you into rest in Him. Matthew 11:28-30 says, “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Today is a new opportunity to be honest with Jesus.
Jesus knows every detail about your life. He knew the answer the woman at the well would give. She did not know who she was talking to at first. But, the entire time, Jesus knew who He was talking to. The woman at the well’s honest reflection before she met Jesus was a life she was not proud of. But, after she finished talking to Jesus, her honest reflection was a changed life she wanted to share with everyone (John 4:28-30).
Jesus knows your honest reflection. He knows if you are entering these next two weeks with joy or despair, if your honest reflection reveals rebellion against Him, and still, Jesus tells us to come to Him.
Does your honest reflection show a life changed by Jesus?