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Good Morning. We had just arrived at our hotel at the start of our recent holiday.  Getting to our room, I opened the door and got a bit of a shock.  There was someone in there already.  Thoughts flashed through my mind.  Who was this disagreeable looking old man? Why did he look so cross?  And why was he wearing those ridiculous shorts?  But then the biggest shock of all – the realisation that it was me.  There was a mirror facing the door and I had just been confronted with a life sized image of myself.

I hardly ever look in mirrors – certainly not full length ones.  So my idea of what I look like is a strange mixture of long out of date memories and comforting fictions.  The stark truth was a revelation – and a far from pleasant one.  My wife found the whole thing hilarious, but I wasn't quite so amused and I'm still working through the impact of the experience.

But it got me thinking more generally about self-examination.

For example, I may fondly imagine that the values and behaviours I show in my day to day life are actually those of a Christian. But sometimes I need the discipline that comes from a realistic assessment – just how closely do I stick to the simple but oh-so-tricky Biblical principles: love, not judgement; others not self; giving not receiving.  There's more, but already on that short list I’ve got enough to find myself very challenged indeed.  And I suspect I am not alone.

In the New Testament, the Epistle of James mentions mirrors and the need, not just to look in them but to remember what we see there. That isn’t to make us feel bad – but to help us see what needs to change.  That process may not be comfortable but it still seems like pretty good advice to me.

Father, give us courage to look honestly at our shortcomings and accept the challenge to change where we need to.  Amen