Reflections

Reflections

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James 1:23-25

As I looked in the mirror this morning, I once again had the thought, “When did I get so old?” One would think that I hadn’t looked in a mirror since I was 35, because that is the image I still see in my mind. (Wishful thinking!)

Could you imagine what a shock it would be if a person stopped looking in the mirror at the age of 25, and then 40 years later checked out their reflection? Crazy, right?

And yet, that is sort of what we do as humans. Even though we look in the mirror every day, we tend to think of ourselves differently. For example, have you ever seen a picture of yourself and thought, “Holy moly, who in the world is that?”

We tend to adopt an image of ourselves that isn’t real.

The same principle can be applied to our Christian walk. We don’t like to truly examine where we are in our walk with God because then it will require us to make changes. We listen to a sermon or read the word and think to ourselves, “Wow, that was good!” but we don’t apply it in our lives. It’s kind of like me and physical exercise, I watch an exercise video and hope that somehow I’ll become thinner by osmosis.

Change doesn’t take place until we take action.

God has so much more for each one of us. One of my favorite sayings is “God loves us too much to leave us the way we are.” His desire for us is that we become a reflection of Him to the world around us.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Heavenly Father, I ask that you begin to reveal to each of us in a greater way who we are in you. Help us to be doers of the word and not just hearers. Show us how to walk that out each and every day. Let us not become complacent or satisfied with where we are at. We love you Lord Jesus and pray that we will be a reflection of your glory to all those around us. In Jesus name, Amen.