Let’s Use the Mirror
About a month ago, a discussion took place with an erring child of God. The hope was to help him see the errors of his ways and restore him in the spirit of meekness while considering myself lest I also be tempted (Galatians 6:1) As expected, he blamed others for his unfaithfulness and waywardness, and it was challenging to get him to focus on his own sins. During his defense, he had tried to quote scripture but was doing a poor job of it. I recognized what he was trying to say, so turned to that passage and began to read it to him. Angry, he said, “I meant that to show what others have done to me!” His anger increased when he realized he was condemned for his own actions. He had to “look in the mirror” and see himself!
James speaks to this reality: “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. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1: 23-25) The glass (KJV) is a mirror. We use mirrors every day: getting ready for the day, driving, displays in stores, a variety of ways. When I was driving a 2 ½ ton straight truck, I was taught and learned to “trust your mirrors.” Mirrors don’t lie. They reflect an exacting image of whatever gazes into them. Thus it is with the perfect law of liberty, i.e., the word of God. God’s word does not lie. Neither does God. When one investigates God’s word, he will see exactly his reflection – either approving or disapproving of your stand with God’s truth!
Sinners tend to ignore that reflection. Doing so does not change the accuracy of the reflection. It can only show where the soul is right with God and where the soul is wrong with God. To ignore the exacting reflection is to ignore the soul’s need to improve to please God. Anyone can do as the man mentioned above and get angry at the truth, or they can accept the reality of their reflection and make the needed changes to become righteous in God’s sight. Regardless, the mirror won’t lie!
Then there are those times when looking in the mirror is quite gratifying! I remember driving that truck. There was a long lane I had to use to back into the business for delivery. It would have been much easier to have driven into the business, but then I would have had to use the mirrors to back out. So, carefully, and trustingly I used the mirrors and successfully made the delivery. The same is true for our souls. There are many times when our lives are challenged with tasks that are difficult at best and require trust in that which will not lie. Can you find a better mirror than the word of God? It leads us in exacting direction, for “it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)
Christians need to realize that God and Christ His Son care! Many will sing the song, “Does Jesus Care?” but ignore the answer, “Oh, YES, He cares! I KNOW He cares!” How can I say this? Simple: Too many fail to look into the mirror and truly see the reflection! They do exactly as James says, “For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” Very few people can accurately describe themselves physically. Somehow, we have a mental image of ourselves that is vastly different than what the mirror reveals. Men and women can easily cover the physical blemishes and hide them from public view, but if we take off the masking, and gaze into that mirror, those blemishes are still there! The same is true spiritually: Many look into the perfect law of liberty, see their blemishes, but attempt to hide them not only from public view but from God. They forget that God sees those blemishes (Hebrews 4:12 – 13) and cares enough about us to tell us not only how to remove the blemish, but to keep them from returning! That’s how much He cares! The problem seems to be some Christians don’t care about themselves!
There is nothing in this mirror that will harm you! But it is a demanding mirror. Because it is God’s word, it commands us to believe Him. And why not? He created us and placed in us a soul from which He requires our obedience. The mirror reflects our soul as it is: in need of believing His word, confessing Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, repenting of our sins (which the mirror reveals in us), and then being immersed into Christ for the remission of our sins! Then we look into this mirror, we find ourselves cleansed, sanctified, and purified!
We must all learn to trust the mirror! We might get angry at what it reveals, but we can’t blame the mirror! We might be pleased with what it reveals, but we can’t compliment ourselves, for we have but complied with what the mirror has shown us to change. We need to use the mirror constantly, just as we use the mirrors of our vehicles or the bathroom, bedroom, or display cases at stores. The reflection not only lets us see our reflection clearly, but mirrors brighten the sight of what we see. We must be careful about “false mirrors.” For example, some mirrors say, “Vehicles are closer than they appear.” Others are curved in the other direction and completely distort the accuracy of truthful reflection. God’s mirror is exacting – there are no distortions, and therefore nothing but the purity, simplicity, and righteousness of God’s order for the salvation of our souls! (Romans 1:16 – 17)
Let’s be genuinely appreciative of God’s Word, not only looking into it daily but examining ourselves by it (2 Corinthians 13:5). Let us recognize our sins and repent of them, and be doers of the word and not hearers only; further, let us be doer of the work (notice the difference in the spelling – verses 22 and 25) that we may be blessed in our deeds.