READ: MARK 7:20-23; ROMANS 3:10-18, 23-24; 1 TIMOTHY 1:15-16

It didn’t matter how good people tried to make themselves look. The mirror never lied. Not to Amiah. She could see a person’s true image in their reflection. And what she saw were monsters.

She didn’t know why no one else saw them, but the monsters were always there, flickering across sheets of glass and curves of metal. A spoon at a restaurant would betray the maniacal rage of a friendly waitress, her yellow, blood-rimmed eyes popping out of her head. A subway window would illuminate the green, slimy jealousy of the well-dressed man sitting next to her. On the street, the side of each building became its own danse macabre as grotesque figures stumbled across the glass.

But they weren’t the reason she avoided reflective surfaces: she was. She was the worst monster of them all. Whenever she looked in the mirror, she shuddered at the horrifying creature gazing back at her, hatred and rage rotting the flesh off her bones. She wanted to scream and run away, but it followed her from one pane of glass to the next.

One day, a man sat down across from her on the subway. He had long, stringy hair and wore a faded T-shirt and tattered jeans. Before she could stop herself, Amiah turned toward the window to see what monster he was hiding—and felt the air go out of her lungs. There was no monster. Only his pure reflection smiling back at her.

She was suddenly pierced with the realization that he could see the monster she was, and her face grew hot with shame. But as the train screeched to a halt, he nodded toward the exit. Come, his eyes said. Follow me.

He pushed open the doors and walked out. This wasn’t her stop, but everything in her propelled her to follow him off the train. She hurried toward the beeping doors and stepped out just as they swooshed close behind her. She joined him on the platform, and as the train pulled away, she caught a glimpse of herself in the window and gasped. For the first time ever, she saw her face. Soft black curls fell across her shoulders, and her eyes shone clear and bright.

The monster was gone. • Courtney Lasater

• What monsters have you seen in the mirror—even if no one else can see them?

• Read 1 Samuel 16:7. How does God’s view of people differ from the way humans see each other?

• Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. What does it say about how God sees those who belong to Jesus? How can knowing Jesus change the way we see ourselves?

Today’s story is an allegory. If you want to dig deeper, read Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 1:16-20; John 1:43-46; 5:24-25; 10:27; Ephesians 2:1-5. 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)