Man in the Mirror: Part 1 with Louie Giglio - LifeChurch.tv

The Man in the Mirror: Living the Two Greatest Commandments

Scripture References

• Matthew 22
• Psalm 103

Overview

Jesus summed up every command and prophetic promise in two inseparable directives: love God with your whole being, and love your neighbor as yourself. Louie Giglio unpacked how these commands shape the two most important relationships you possess—your relationship with God and your relationship with yourself—and how both flow outward to everyone else. Because God came all the way to us in Jesus, He can truly relate to every circumstance we face, pours out grace by the shovel-full, and invites us to reflect that same abundance to others.

Context

This is week one of a two-part series called “The Man in the Mirror.” Giglio opened by naming Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” as the greatest pop song ever and used its theme—examining the person staring back at us—to launch into Jesus’ teaching on the greatest commandments.

Main Points

1. The Two Commandments Reveal Two Core Relationships

• Jesus answered the Pharisees’ trap question (Matthew 22) by linking loving God and loving neighbor.
• Each command is equal in weight; everything God has ever said “hangs” on them.
• These commandments frame the two most important relationships in life:
  1. with God, the Creator who formed us for Himself;
  2. with ourselves, the person we spend the most time with and talk to the most.
• Getting the primary relationship with God right is the single greatest factor in getting every other relationship right.

2. Yes—God Can Relate to You

• The words are printed in red because the Speaker is the divine-human Jesus.
• Jesus lived three decades on earth—facing loneliness, temptation, betrayal, physical labor, frustration, and suffering.
• Whatever your world—high finance, farming, family collapse—He has walked where you walk.

3. How God Relates to Us

• He relentlessly pursues us even when we ignore Him.
• He does not give us what we deserve (Psalm 103) but meets us with mercy.
• He never meets us halfway; He comes all the way to where we are, like the father running to the prodigal.

4. What God Sees When He Looks at You

Illustration: Louie wrote these statements on a mirror to show Heaven’s perspective.

• “I love you.”
• “I’m grateful you’re alive.”
• “You are a rare and beautiful treasure.”
• “I forgive you—past, present, future.”
• “I’ll hold you to a high standard yet give grace and mercy appropriately.”
• “I have a special calling for your life.”
• “I’m cheering for you; I believe in you.”

5. Shovel vs. Spoon

Illustration: God shovels mercy, compassion, and acceptance on us daily, yet we often pass them to others with a teaspoon.

• Celebrating God’s shovel but dispensing a spoon shows we have not fully received His abundance.
• When we truly accept the shovel, we naturally use a shovel toward others.

Key Truths

• Everything in God’s law and every prophetic promise rests on loving God and loving people.
• Jesus’ full humanity guarantees He “gets” every struggle we face.
• God comes all the way to us; grace always travels the longest distance.
• Your self-view is formed largely by what you tell yourself—let it be what God says.
• The measure you receive from God is the measure you will pass on to others.

Response

• Receive God’s daily shovel of mercy before you face anyone else.
• Speak Heaven’s declarations to the person in your mirror each morning.
• Replace spoon-sized forgiveness and kindness with shovel-sized generosity toward others.
• Hold yourself and those you love to a holy standard, while lavishing grace when failures occur.
• Live today as someone on divine assignment, believing Heaven is cheering for you.

Closing

Our creator not only commands us to love; He empowers us by demonstrating immeasurable love first. When we truly grasp how deeply God relates to, pursues, and treasures us, the man or woman in the mirror is transformed—and so are our relationships.

“Everything God has ever thought about doing hangs on these two commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Prayer

Jesus, thank You that the cross now stands in every one of our stories. Open our minds and hearts to receive Your love, so that what we hear and sing becomes the air we breathe, shaping the way we love others day by day. Amen.

Resources

• Book: “The Christian Atheist” by Craig Groeschel
• Song: “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson