The Mirror of God's Word

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.- James 1:22-24

I don't like mirrors. Why? Because they reveal the truth. They remind me that I'm having a bad hair day. They inform me of my wrinkles, gray hair, and blemishes. They condemn me for the extra pounds gathering around my midsection. Mirrors. We need them, but that doesn't mean we have to like them.

What good would it do me, however, if I woke up in the morning, took a look in the mirror, and then walked out the door? Why bother looking if I'm not going to do anything about what I see? Why check my hair if I'm not going to brush it? Why inspect my face if I'm not going to apply some makeup? What's the point of having a mirror if we allow it to show us the flaws and then do nothing to fix them?

James is asking the same question. He is telling us that God's Word is like a mirror. Just like we do with a physical mirror, we should stand before God's Word each and every day. We should study it, inspect it, examine the flaws that it reveals. But, James reminds us that that is not enough. We must go beyond knowing what needs to be fixed. We need to step into action and actually work on fixing the problems. Don't just hear, do. Don't just know, do. Don't just study, do. Otherwise, we'll be just like the man who looks in the mirror and then walks off forgetting what he saw to begin with.

I don't know about you, but I do not want the image that greets me in the mirror each morning to be the image that others see. I want to improve. The same goes for my spiritual reflection, for God's Word shows me not only what I am, but what I can be.

An Excerpt from Daily Discussions of a Doubting Disciple, 

Book 2 in the Giggles and Grace Series by Dana Rongione