BROADCASTS.com

b'I lived in a city of mirrors. As I attempted to amble surreptitiously down\\nthe street to my destination, I nervously adjusted my mirrored glasses.\\nEveryone wore them in the city. In fact, removing your glasses bordered on\\nappalling.\\n.\\nFiguring a mocha might jump-start my day, I squeezed in line at a local\\ncafe. The girl in front of me turned, and our mirrored eyes met. The person\\nI saw reflected back at me was anxious, fidgeting, trying to untangle a\\nknot of hair. Too much frizz. Was that leftover breakfast in my teeth? I\\nsighed. Who would want to hang out with me anyways? I turned my head in\\ndefeat and the girl turned away.\\n.\\n\\u201cEveryone must see exactly what I see\\u2014a disaster!\\u201d I thought. Blinking back\\ntears, I hurried down the street. \\u201cIf only I didn\\u2019t have to look in one\\nmore mirror\\u2026\\u201d Suddenly, I saw a pair of sandaled feet blocking my path. I\\nstopped short and slowly raised my head\\u2026 I gasped. His eyes, kindness\\nradiating from them, and smile lines that crinkled pleasantly around the\\nedges. This man looked at me with mirrorless, glasses-free eyes!\\n.\\nThere was no other way to explain it, but I felt as though he had known me\\nmy whole life. Then, he spoke my name, soft as a whisper. \\u201cJayden, you see\\nyourself through your own eyes, but you are so much more to me. People look\\nat the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.\\u201d I shook my head. \\u201cBut\\nhow do you look at someone\\u2019s heart? How can I see differently?\\u201d\\n.\\nHe threw back his head and laughed\\u2014a pure, musical sound. \\u201cUp until\\nnow you\\u2019ve only seen reflections, but soon you will see face-to-face. I\\u2019ve\\ncome to tell you that you are fully known and completely loved\\u2026 by me and\\nby my Father.\\u201d Hearing his words, I felt joy filling my soul and splashing\\nover, like a dry fountain come back to life. I blurted out, \\u201cShow me. I\\nwant to see!\\u201d He reached out his hands, and lifted the glasses from my\\neyes. \\u2022 Savannah Coleman\\n.\\n\\u2022 Today\\u2019s story is an allegory. We live in a world that places a huge\\nemphasis on outward appearances. This is nothing new\\u2014just look at 1 Samuel\\n16! But God sees everything about us, including our hearts. He loves us,\\nand He invites us into the freedom of knowing Him through Jesus. God showed\\nhow much we are worth to Him when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the\\ngrave for us. We find our true identity in Jesus. How can knowing Him\\naffect the way we see ourselves\\u2026 and others? \\n.\\nFor now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to\\nface. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully\\nknown. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\n1Sam.16.1-1Sam.16.13|1Cor.13'