Devotionals

The Law of Reflection

by Jennifer Woodley 
03/05/21
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“Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another.” Proverbs 27:19 (NRSV)

When I was a little girl my very old and wise grandpa took me bushwalking. One particular incident remains vivid in my mind to this day. Once, after what seemed like a long walk for my young legs, we came to a cool, deep pool and rested quietly there at the edge of the water. “Lean over and smile into the water” he said.

So I did. “Now make a face of anger.”

So I did. “Now open your hand and stretch it over the water as if giving a gift.”

So I did. “Now do the opposite.”

“What’s the opposite?” I asked.

“Stretch your hand to the water, close it, and withdraw it, as if taking something away.”

“I’m not seeing the point of this grandpa” I objected.

“Oh, but there is a point,” he replied. “As we do, so it will be done to us. If we bless others, we will be blessed. If we withhold blessing, our blessings will be withheld. If we live by taking, it will, in the end, be taken from us. If we live a life of giving, it will in the end, be given to us. Condemn others, and we will be condemned. Forgive others, and we too will be forgiven. That is the law of reflection.”

Through this simple lesson, we learn that the most joyous way to live is to live a life of love, of giving, of blessing, of compassion, of an open hand and heart. Let’s live each day giving to others the very thing we seek for our own life.