Dear Love,
People have a look at me,
every time they pass,
I show them how they look,
silver on brittle glass,
I see many faces every day,
Some stay long and others, just a glance,
But never have I seen myself; never got the chance
I reflect what they truly are,
No flaws hidden, no extras unbidden,
Scripting stories unwritten,
Yet beauty I don’t mar
Some look at me with disgust,
some in awe,
Some, disappointed,
And some whose emotions I don’t know,
Still I focus on them, every tiny detail I show,
No thank you in return, yet I reflect every high and low
Your love does the same,
Reflecting the loved and not the lover,
But Your love overlooks their flaws,
You forgive not cover,
No judgement, no questions,
You hear people out, You consider their opinions,
Love that does not look at self,
You seek no dominion,
You do not demand,
Neither do you have conditions,
Love so vast,
One in infinity cross billion.
Love,
The Wall Mirror
Footnotes:
“…having concern for one’s own welfare and interests before those of others”—this is how the dictionary defines self-seeking. I have heard a lot of people call themselves selfless but I have seen only One who truly lived up to the definition—Jesus Christ.
I am going to get into a touchy topic in this article—the malady of spiritual pride in today’s churches. I remember this one time when we went for an outreach programme from church. More than engaging and interacting with them, the focus was getting great images. I wondered why there was such excessive photography that day. I got my answer that Sunday when a presentation with all the pictures was screened during church service. This irritated me a lot. “Was this done as part of a personal vendetta to get some attention?” “Was it to show that the church is into good deeds?” That day, for the first time, I felt ashamed that I was a part of it. I understood that the church did not do it for the people or for God—it was an act, for a personal interest.
The truth—most churches today advertise themselves using this pitch. A sob story, a good deed, a miracle, a financial breakthrough. All in the name of God. The many Sundays when the message of selfless service was preached from the pulpit suddenly felt like a bag of lies. I feel service is truly selfless when it is done in private and not flaunted on a banner publicly. This show-off results in spiritual pride. Though this helps the church to grow in a worldly sense, it hampers the real growth in the spirit. This ailment has spread uncontrollably to a point that there seems to be no point of stopping. And these stories of good deeds and outreach spreads like wildfire just like gossip. Every social media platform is used to announce the goodness and kindness of the church. Funny how Jesus never announced His goodness and yet the world came to know about it. How He selflessly sacrificed Himself for us without making it seem like a sob story. How He healed untouchable lepers and never a made big deal out of it. What mattered to Him was glorifying His Father in all that He said and did. No gloating, no pride.
How I wish one day that churches would have the selfless character of Christ—to love without photographs or videos. How I wish that the gospel would spread as fast as gossip—the Great Commission in the heart of every believer. How I wish for the church to be a mirror of truth—the kind that reflect the good and bad, but all in love.
One day—maybe soon. Until then I pray for this malady to die out.