When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see?

Most of us have an opinion about our appearance — for better or for worse. Caring about how we present ourselves isn’t inherently wrong. Striving to look polished or professional can reflect a desire to honor the beauty God woven into creation. Scripture calls our bodies “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19), urging us to steward them with care. But when a bad hair day, a breakout, or an outfit that just doesn’t work throws us into a spiral, it reveals a deeper struggle. Too often, we become consumed by our reflection — either puffed up with pride or, more commonly, crushed by self-loathing.

Yet, here’s the real question: While we obsess over the mirror that reflects our outer selves, how often do we examine the mirror of our soul? When you peer into your heart — your thoughts, desires, and character — do you like what you see? More importantly, how much time do you dedicate to nurturing the state of your inner self compared to perfecting your external appearance?

This reflection was sparked by a sermon from the late Dr. R.C. Sproul. Though it was a minor point in his message, it struck a chord. “I didn’t like the mirror,” he quipped. “I didn’t like what it showed me … my shape.” And “we have other blemishes that are revealed to us by honest mirrors,” he added. Yet, he emphasized, the physical mirror pales in comparison to the one that matters most. As he poignantly stated, “They don’t make mirrors out there for your soul. That mirror is found in the law of God. And when I look in that mirror, that mirror never lies.”

The concept of the “mirror of God’s law” or the “mirror of the word” has been explored by many theologians. This spiritual mirror — God’s word — reveals the true condition of our inner selves, exposing our thoughts, motives, and character with almost painful clarity. Unlike a physical mirror, it doesn’t merely reflect; it calls us to transformation. Scripture teaches that our inner self is to be renewed daily (2 Corinthians 4:16). Our hearts — and the posture of them — matter deeply to God. As 1 Samuel 16:7 declares, “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Similarly, 1 Peter 3:4 urges us to cultivate “the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”

Yet, how often do we prioritize this inner renewal over our outward appearance? For many, the honest answer is: not nearly enough.

The great pastor and theologian Charles Spurgeon addressed this truth powerfully in his sermon, “The Looking Glass.” He urged believers not only to gaze into the mirror of God’s word but to persist in doing so until their lives begin to reflect the likeness of Christ. Spurgeon’s words capture this beautifully:

“As I stand here I look into the mirror of the Word and see myself. But this is not enough for me: I will look till I see more. I continue looking into the mystic glass until, to my great surprise, I see another form appearing. Evidently some mysterious Personage is reflected in this mirror. How beautiful and majestic is the Stranger’s visage! I look till the image of my countenance melts into the reflection of His countenance, and He alone is seen. I only appear in Him. Is He not lovely? Indeed He is the Chief among ten thousand. Now I see the meaning of that word, ‘We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’”

These words unveil a transformative truth: God is shaping us into the likeness of Christ through the work of His Spirit and the guidance of His word. Yet, we must ask ourselves: Do we earnestly desire to be molded by the Spirit and anchored by Scripture? Or are we distracted by fleeting earthly concerns and the desires of our flesh? Are we willing to surrender fully, to be clay in the hands of the great Potter? Spurgeon challenges us further: “You have seen your faces in the mirror of the Word,” he stated, “do you not desire to have them cleansed and beautified? You know your impurity; do you not wish to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus from all sin?”

Concerning our choices, he pressed further, “Will you go your ways as if there were no law to accuse you, no gospel to invite you, no Christ to forgive you? Will you live and die as if there were no heaven, no hell, no eternity, no God?” Spurgeon’s words, though sharp, ring with undeniable truth. As new creations, we are no longer defined by our former selves, when the mirror of our soul reflected only sin and rebellion against the King of kings. Now, though our mirrors remain tarnished by this broken world, they reflect not just our fall but our redemption — a glorious work in progress — in which our lives are meant to reflect.

“Oh,” Spurgeon exclaimed, “to have Him shining even into the innermost closet of our nature, so as to have no part dark! Oh, to become new editions of the life of Christ! We would not only look into the mirror, but we would be ourselves mirrors, reflecting the beauties of the holy Lord Jesus.” This is no fleeting reflection, as Spurgeon noted, but a “continual” one, for “the true heart continues looking into the perfect law of liberty.” Brother and sister in Christ, we’re not truly concerned with our outer self, which is wasting away (2 Corinthians 4:16), are we? No, as Spurgeon reminds us, our deepest longing is to “give the reflection of truth.”

There is a mirror of supreme significance — one we are called to hold up “to nature in a moral and spiritual sense, and let men see themselves therein.” Spurgeon concludes with piercing clarity: “We have not even to make the mirror, but only to hold it up. The thoughts of God, and not our own thoughts, are to be set before our hearers’ minds; and these discover a man to himself. The Word of the Lord is a revealer of secrets: it shows a man his life, his thoughts, his heart, his inmost self.”

So, when you gaze into the mirror, what do you see? Not the physical form, beautifully crafted by the hand of the Creator, but the reflection of your soul. As an adopted son or daughter of Christ, redeemed and sealed by His grace, do you find joy in what is revealed? If we steadfastly fix our eyes on the mirror of God’s word, allowing its truth to shape us into vessels that radiate His glory, then, though the journey may be gradual, we will grow to cherish what we see. For in that reflection, we behold not only our redeemed selves but the very image of Christ, the “Chief among ten thousand,” shining through us.

Let us, therefore, prioritize the eternal beauty of our souls over the transient allure of our outward appearance. May we become living mirrors, reflecting the truth, love, and radiant light of Christ to a world shrouded in darkness, desperately yearning for His transformative grace.