Reflections

As water reflects the face,

so one's life reflects the heart.

Proverbs 27:19

One of my favorite types of photographs are those that show reflections in water. I love them because I know they take planning to have the right kind of light, patience to have a calm day, and a good eye to see the picture that many might miss. One of my absolute favorite reflection shots is by Andrew Hetherington: 

So the question today is: What is your heart reflecting? Is it reflecting love and hope and joy? Or is it reflecting anxiety and anger and frustration? What is in our hearts comes out in our lives. 

And other people notice. They see the reflection of our hearts. I was at an event recently and two people got into an argument. One of the people involved immediately started saying things under his breath that weren't super kind toward the other person. He then loudly and meanly, "joked" about what he was angry about. None of those in the room were fooled. We knew he was all kinds of mad. But it also said something about his heart. His reflection wasn't so great in the moment. (Although this story isn't about me, you can assume that most days of my life, it could be.)

His reflection, and yours and mine, was crystal clear.

We have a choice in what we reflect. We can put beautiful things, like Scripture, in our hearts and pray to God that those things are reflected, or we can put in ugly things, like Nic Cage movies. The reflection may be somewhat horrifying! Seriously, though, you can make a list of the things in your life that you hope aren't reflected to the world. Stop putting them into your life!

If our lives reflect our hearts and we claim to know Jesus, then our lives reflect Jesus. Even when they really don't. So pay attention to what you are reflecting today, because it speaks to the world of a God who is love or who is angry or who is forgiving or who lacks forgiveness. Let's ask God to give us lives that reflect who He is.

What do you hope is reflected from your heart to your life?