What do you see when you look out the window? What do you see when you look in the mirror? I first learned to think about these questions in a new way at the Frames and Filters workshop led by Tali Hairston. (This concept was first introduced by Emily Style for the National SEED Project.) Tali explained that when I look in the mirror, I see myself reflected back. When I look through a window, I see how others experience the world.

As a member of the dominant culture (white, native-born American), when I look at movies, magazines, TV, and books, I'm usually looking into a mirror. I get to see my own experiences reflected back a lot. Seeing yourself reflected in the world around you is great for building identity and self-worth. But what if you're not part of the dominant culture? Too often, you're looking through windows and seeing the experiences of others. This is great for building empathy and learning about others, but it is isolating when you rarely see yourself reflected. The truth is, we need both windows and mirrors in our lives.

I love learning new ideas like the windows and mirrors concept. But I take even more delight in finding these concepts reflected in the Bible. When I read the Gospels, it's clear to me that Jesus was very intentional about providing both windows and mirrors. He did this both for the people he interacted with at the time and for readers of the Bible two thousand years later. Throughout his ministry, Jesus connected with both the dominant culture and with nearly every marginalized community I can think of, and his disciples recorded the vast array of these interactions for our benefit. Starting with his birth, we see visits from both Magi (wealthy and influential foreigners) and shepherds (poor locals).

During Jesus' ministry, we see him healing people with a variety of disabilities like leprosy, paralysis, blindness, deafness, demon-possession, and bleeding disorders. He heals the servant of a Roman Centurion, the daughter of a Jewish synagogue ruler, a widow's son, and the daughter of a Canaanite woman. He has personal interactions with Pharisees like Nicodemus, women like Mary and Martha, tax collectors like Zacchaeus and his disciple Matthew, rich young men, and little children. Jesus even uses a despised foreigner, a Samaritan, as the hero of one of his most famous parables, answering the question, "Who is my neighbor?" There are mirrors and windows in the Gospels for everyone.

Since I first learned about the idea of windows and mirrors, I've been thinking a lot about the windows and mirrors in my own life. When I read the news or watch TV, I'm usually looking into a mirror. I love experiencing the world through books, so I enjoy a lot more windows when I read. Lately, I've been trying to go even deeper. Where am I learning about history and current events? Who is teaching me about Jesus and the Bible? I have intentionally sought out new voices that are not from my dominant culture to speak into these areas of my life, and my world is much richer for it.