The (Wo)man in the Mirror

So many of us are doers by nature that when James challenges us to prove that we are doers of God’s Word, you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking: Already am! Check. What’s next? Sometimes, though, it’s little verses like this one that pack the biggest surprise, so I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to take a few minutes to look at what’s here, just in case. Especially since the verses that follow James 1:22 offer an example of a mere hearer. 

We’re told of a guy who walks by a mirror, stops to glance at himself long enough to verify, “Yep, that’s me all right!”—and then forgets what he looks like as soon as he walks away. Because I spend a lot of time in front of a mirror with my job, I wasn’t sure what to make of this—I mean, how could he forget his own face?—until one Bible commentator put the illustration in perspective: “Thus is it often with the mirror of the soul.” 

Ahhh, okay. We may recognize ourselves in a sermon or the life of a biblical figure, enough to claim, “Yep, that’s me!” in the moment, but once church is over or we’ve turned the page, it’s “out of sight, out of mind.” This quickly fading “knowledge” is very different from the deep awareness that arises from daily walks and talks with God. He reflects who we really are. And when we catch sight of ourselves in His mirror, it sometimes produces a penetrating, godly sorrow. A kind of good grief that compels us to reverse course because we’ve seen our sin and how it’s hurting the One who loves us most. 

I’m sad to say, I have been that (wo)man in the mirror, aware of God’s teachings but ignoring them; fleetingly telling God I’m sorry...and then continuing to do what I wanted. Praise God for His forgiveness and for fresh starts once we finally see and repent! 

To be a true doer of the Word means to act on the full knowledge of what we’ve read and heard. Anything less, says James, and we’re only deceiving ourselves. 

Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. JAMES 1:22 NASB 

Dear Father, I repent of the times I’ve heard Your truth but tossed it aside. Sensitize me to what breaks Your heart. Show me my face so I can be right with You.  

Candace Cameron Bure 
100 Days of Joy & Strength 

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