Who or What is Your Mirror
James 1:22-25 (NIV)22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
The day starts, you jump out of bed realizing the alarm did not go off at the correct time due to the fact that someone else had to messed it up. You finish the dressing process and sit down to enjoy a quick breakfast bar as you look in the mirror on the way out the door. You notice that you forgot to do anything with your hair because of the great rush. You tell yourself as you notice your hair that you fix it on the way to work at every red light. But, because of the great rush you drive into work hop out run to your desk and let out a big sigh becauseyou make it one minute early. People walk by your desk throughout the day and give you very funny looks. You ask yourself “why is everyone looking at me funny this morning?” Then your first bathroom break comes, you head to bathroom and as you are washing your hands (hopefully) you look and suddenly realize why the looks were coming your way. As the screech comes out of your mouth you realize that you never fixed your hair.
This silly example is excatly what we do as Christians when we do our quite time and rush out our spiritual door into a world where specifices are very important. Verse 22 sets the group of verses off to a great start because it’s not just telling us to read and rush but read and do. by reading and doing sets what is read into motion or into practice. This is called application. See when you look into the mirror and do nothing about what you see, you do not apply what you see to reality. James is telling reading God’s word does not stop at reading but a combination of reading and applying God’s word.
Verses 23-24 is telling us that many are going into this world not applying God’s word to our lives. Instead we are suppose to take that word apply it and not forget it. If we do walk away from the mirror of God’s word and do nothing with it then we are not using God’s word as a mirror. Instead of God’s mirror we use “our own” mirror or the world’s mirror to see the problems that need to be fixed or changed. This does not at all fit what scripture is telling us. Instead, scripture is telling us that as we use God’s word as that mirror we will see God working in our lives and blessing us because of our love for Him through our obedience to Him (v 25).
I would like to encourage you as you read this passage and realize that God is looking for His people to read His word and then do something with it.
