Selfie Stick

I had no idea what my daughter was talking about when she described it.
I bought it at camp, she announced after a week of being a camp counselor.
It was only $8.00.
I know I will use it a lot as I take pictures.

This is my daughter who loves to take pictures.
This is my daughter that has her own photography business.
In other hands, I would have questioned the purchase.
However, in her hands, I knew she would do creative things with the device.

What is it? I said, having no idea even when she showed it to me.
It’s a selfie stick.
I was confused.
You attach your phone to the one end, extend the pole, and take pictures.

The explanation was as clear as mud.
Why would you want to do that? I naively asked.
It’s not for pictures of me; this will be great for pictures of a group of people.
I could see her mind turning as she thought of her RA position this fall at college.

She explained how it worked, but until I saw it in action, it was just words.
That was until everyone came home for my birthday.
We wanted a group picture and my daughter got out her selfie stick.
I watched her attach her phone to the one end and extend the pole.

The pole was extended way above our heads and somehow we all fit in the frame.
It was fun, it was easy, and I really liked the angle of the shot.
My boys got a hold of the selfie stick and began to take random pictures.
They extended the pole as far as it would go to accommodate our high ceilings.

Maybe I will get one, I said and they all laughed.
They know that I am not into gadgets of any kind.
They know that I can capture a moment in words but I am a horrible photographer.
Even with my iPhone that focuses itself, I somehow manage to take a bad picture.

My children have what they call a sibling text that goes on between all of them.
It is a thread of conversation that has been ongoing for quite a while.
It is how they stay connected with each other between phone calls or visits.
My post-it note was fodder for a sibling text.

My innocent post-it note that had two items on it: iTunes gift card and selfie stick.
My oldest daughter saw it above my desk and took a picture with her iPhone.
It became the beginning of a new conversation between the siblings.
Their mother had somehow entered the 21st century and they found that amusing.

My daughter and I were shopping at the store with the bulls-eye.
We found a selfie-stick that had a button on the handle.
Rather than set a timer on her phone, this was just one easy push of a button.
I bought two: one for my photographer daughter and one for me.

She tried it out on the way home.
She took a picture of me driving and a picture of her holding the selfie stick box.
The latter picture got sent to her siblings to inform them of the purchase.
Her brother mimicked that picture later in the day with his own version of the shot.

I know our family will have a lot of fun with this when we are all together.
I thought about the concept of a selfie stick.
I thought about the word “self” in the name.
I thought about what we really see when we take a selfie.

Anyone on Facebook knows that selfies abound.
Usually there is a hand extended holding the camera just out of the shot.
Usually there is the expected pout as a girl tries to make herself model material.
Usually there is some outdoor shot showing the athletic prowess of a young man.

We take selfies to put ourselves in the best possible light.
We control the setting, the location, and the amount of shots until we get it right.
What seems like an impromptu shot may really have taken a lot of time.
We want to put our best face forward for all to see.

But is that the real us?

What if God had a selfie stick?
What if we were unable to manufacture the best shot?
What if God’s selfie stick showed us the way we really are?
What if we were able to see ourselves the way God sees us?

In the Tabernacle, there was a bronze laver, a washbasin containing water for washing.
The bronze laver was placed between the door of the Holy Place and the altar.
The laver came after the sacrifice and before the door of the Holy Place.
The laver was made from the bronze mirrors of the women.

I always thought it was interesting that the laver was made from mirrors.
In those mirrors, the priest could see himself as he really was.
He was a sinner and had to atone for his sins through the blood of the animal sacrifice.
Over and over, he had to offer sacrifices for his sins and for the sins of the people.

Over and over.
The mirrors told the story.
It was as if the laver was a selfie stick.
You couldn’t look into the bronze laver and not see your sin and how far you fell short.

Pictures don’t lie.
We are sinners.
However in Christ, we are sinners saved by grace.
God’s selfie stick shows us who we are in Christ.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23, 24)

Be thankful for God’s selfie stick.
Be thankful that God’s Word shows us our sin and shows us how to be saved.
Be thankful that God’s selfie stick is held by a nail scarred Hand.
The button was pushed only once; the need for continuous sacrifices was over.

Jesus is the perfect focal point.
In Him we see ourselves as God sees us: forgiven, redeemed, and deeply loved.
One push of the button and Jesus sat down. (Hebrews 10:12)
Jesus offered one sacrifice for all sins, and for all times, once and for all.

It is finished.
No need for a re-take.
The pole was extended in the ground of Calvary.
Everyone who comes to Jesus in faith fits into the frame.