The Mirror Does Not Lie

James 1:  22-24

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what is says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

The Word of God is the most powerful book of all time.  The Bible is the only true living book.  It comes alive to the reader as the Holy Spirit causes certain passages to “leap off the page” at the reader, speaking the very words they need to hear.  The Bible reproves, corrects and trains people in the way they should live. It springs to life with promises that bring goose bumps to the reader as they recognize that they have stumbled across a rhema word, something God speaks directly to them.

Although the Bible is all these things (and so much more!), there are some things it cannot do.  It cannot read itself to you.  It cannot change you if you are not willing to listen.  It cannot change you if you are not willing to obey.  It cannot walk down the road and put itself into someone’s hand.  Some things have been left for us to “partner with” God to enjoy.  We must have a willingness to read, to listen, to obey and to spread this gospel.

Have you ever been getting ready to go somewhere in a hurry? As you are glancing in the mirror you think: “Oh yea, this shirt is missing a button.”  Or “Oh man, I forgot to wash the conditioner from my hair.”  Or “I have to brush out the curls I just put in.”  Only later to realize that in your haste, you forgot to go back and correct what was missing?   Don’t pretend it has not happened to you!  We have all been guilty of looking in the mirror only to forget what we saw and what needs to occur.

Mirrors make us accountable.  Another interesting thing that I believe happens sometimes when people look in the mirror is that they have a “pretty lie” switch attached.  You know the ones I mean.  You see a three hundred pound lady at the beach in a bikini and you wonder, who told her she looked all right in that?  You see someone walking through the mall wearing clothes made for someone twenty years their junior and you ask yourself, what lie did they tell themselves that made that look OK to them. I will stop at this point, so as not to meddle…

People have a tendency to live in denial about themselves- about their behavior, their habits, and their appearance.  Looking into the Word of God and really beholding the reflection we find there can go a long way toward improving our presentation to the world- and to God.  I can read where the Bible says forgive, but then I can pretend I did not see it.  The person who comes away enhanced by the image is the one who reads the directive and asks God to show him/her how to respond to that word and put it into practice.

We all have a tendency to forget the things we learn in Scripture. It seems to be human nature.  But the more often we look into the Truth, the more likely we are to get a reality check and see things for what they are.  How many times have I been spared embarrassment because I have a mirror not only in my bathroom, but in my bedroom and in my car as well?  The more mirrors the better, because sometimes I catch something I missed before or had forgotten to correct.  Install “Word mirrors” in your life.  Read a devotional in the morning.  Have a passage tucked into the bathroom mirror, attend Bible study, and be faithful to church.  These are all opportunities for you to see the truth and do something about it.

Dear Lord, help me to rightly handle the reflection of myself that I see in your Word.  Help me be a person who does what it says and does not forget the truths I find there.  Change me into Your reflection. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri