Is Your Mirror Broken?

Old superstitions believe that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck. This is thought to have evolved from the time of legends when the first people saw their reflections in a pool of water. They believed that the image in the water was their actual soul and to endanger it would in turn result in damage to their ‘other’ physical bodies.

Mirrors were also believed to have magical powers from the gods to foresee the future and thus breaking a mirror would destroy its powers and the soul would be separated from the body and be lost in the spiritual dimension, causing the body to be vulnerable to injury.

In Roman times, mirrors were fragile and costly, so they used the legend to scare people into taking care with their mirrors. The Romans believed that life took seven years to renew itself, which is where the seven-year time period was introduced.

In Genesis, it says that God made us in His image. So as Christians, we reflect the image of Christ in our characters. We are the moon to the sun of Christ. He is the true life and we are but reflections of His love. We are the mirrors that show who Christ is.

However, when our imperfections and sins break the mirror, we are sad because we feel that we have ruined the image of Him that we reflect to others. Blessedly, it does not take seven years of misfortune to redeem our mistakes, as God forgives us in the moment that we repent.

In addition, unlike a physical mirror, God can take the broken pieces and remake them into a shining mosaic that is even more beautiful than the original. This is because people can see that it is only God working in us which has restored us. It is convincing evidence of God’s renewing life in seemingly impossible circumstances. Thus, His light shining in our earthen vessels gives hope to others that God can also restore their brokenness into a glorious reflection of Him.

In the Amplified Bible, it says, “Arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you –rise to a new life. Shine – be radiant with the glory of the Lord”. This shows that we often sink into hopelessness when we feel that we have failed God. However, His Spirit urges us to arise, to get up again, and to trust to His mercy and surpassing power to enliven us and cause us to be radiant with His glory, not our own. Let’s do it!