The Broken Mirror: Seeing Ourselves Through God’s Eyes

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Today, we’re diving into the core of the gospel. If you’ve ever felt unworthy, ashamed, or stuck in guilt—this message is for you.

Let’s begin with Romans 3:23-24, which states, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

The reality is that “everyone” has sinned (that includes you, myself, our friends, and yes, even our pastors have sinned)…this is not a condemnation, but a universal truth. We ALL fall short in some area of our lives. We may experience pride, selfishness, bitterness, fear, addiction, or the temptation of comparison.

But sin isn’t just a list of wrong behaviors—it’s a condition of the heart. It’s the fracture in our relationship with God, the distortion of His image in us.  “Sin isn’t just what we do—it’s what separates us from the One who made us.”

Let’s look at the metaphor of a broken, shattered mirror to help us grasp this truth in a deeply visual and personal way.

Just as a mirror is designed to reflect light, we were created to reflect the glory of God—His love, His holiness, and His truth.

Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  

My friend, we were made in His image, God’s image. That means we were meant to shine with His character, to be living reflections of His goodness in the world.

But sin—whether pride, envy, lust, bitterness, or unbelief—cracks the mirror and distorts the reflection. We may try to piece the mirror (which is ourselves) back together with effort, religion, or self-help, but the shards of brokenness may cut deeper, and the cracks remain.

The light of God still shines, but the reflection is distorted. Instead of clarity, there’s confusion. Instead of beauty, there’s brokenness. And no matter how hard we try to fix ourselves, we can’t restore the cracked mirror on our own. 

And guess what, a broken mirror doesn’t just fail to reflect fully—it can even block the light. And that’s what sin does. It separates us from God’s presence, leaving us in a spiritual shadow. In our sin, we feel the ache of that separation in guilt, shame, restlessness, and the longing for something more.

But praise God, who is our master restorer, for His generous Grace. God doesn’t discard broken mirrors. He redeems them. The key scripture that declares we are made new in Christ is 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

This verse beautifully captures the transformative power of salvation. When we place our faith in Jesus, we don’t just get a fresh start—we become a new creation. Our identity shifts from broken to redeemed, from guilty to forgiven, from lost to found.