The Antique Mirror

"Mom, look at this old mirror!" Leah called to her mother, who was going through boxes on the other side of the attic. As she looked in the mirror, Leah giggled at her short, squat reflection. "This mirror makes me look so funny."Mom came up behind her and looked. "That mirror is very old. It belonged to your great-great-grandmother.""Can we take it down to show everybody?" asked Leah."Sure," said Mom. "I'm sure they'd like to see it too."That evening, Leah's family laughed together at their reflections in the antique mirror. "It's fun to see myself in this old mirror, but it makes me look all squashed," said Leah. "I'm sure glad we have better ones we use now.""Yeah," said Noah. "It'd be hard to get ready in the morning using this!" "Yes, modern mirrors show us much more accurate images of ourselves than this old one," said Mom. "That's the kind of mirror we want to be.""What do you mean?" asked Noah. "People aren't mirrors.""In a way, we are," said Mom. "Our words and actions are a reflection of our inner thoughts and beliefs. Since we believe in Jesus and have His love in us, we need to reflect Him in everything we do.""Yes, and it should be an accurate image of Him," said Dad. "People should see Jesus in us the way He really is--not a squashed reflection.""A squashed reflection?" asked Noah. "What would that be?""Well, people sometimes get the impression that Christians think they're better than other people," said Dad. "Or they may see Christians be unkind or gossip about others. That's not a true picture of Jesus.""That's right," said Mom. "The Holy Spirit produces the characteristics of Jesus in us, and we need to reflect them in our lives. Do you remember what they are?" "I know!" said Leah. "Things like love, kindness, joy, patience, and self-control." "They're called the fruit of the Spirit," added Noah.Mom nodded. "Those are things people should see in our lives. When we trust God to help us show those characteristics to others, we'll be reflecting Jesus as He truly is."-Jean A. Burns