"Do not merely be listeners of the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word, but does not do what it says, is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do so, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does." ~James 1:22-24
If those verses aren't quoted perfectly it's because I wrote them from memory. I am doing a new bible study written by Beth Moore on the book of James. She has encouraged those who want to to memorize the entire book of James. For those unfamiliar with the book, it is 5 chapters long. I fail miserably at scripture memory. Therefore, I thought why not give it a go. I memorized about 21 verses in John during a previous bible study so I figured I could do this one, too. So hopefully, in about another 4 months, I'll have all 5 chapters memorized. I am done with chapter 1.
That's not why I am writing this post though. If anyone is like me, those verses in James have flat out confused me for basically the last 10+ years of my life. Sure I've read them & I got the basic concept of them, but I don't think I have ever fully understood them until just this past week. And I can tell you that it wasn't due to any bible study homework or teacher, it was simply an act of the Holy Spirit unveiling my eyes to His truth. Don't you love when that happens?
As believers, we are to reflect Christ, right? When I look in the mirror, I should see the reflection of my Lord, Jesus Christ. So if I have spent time looking intently at His Word then I should see the image on Christ reflected in the mirror. How do I see that? Through doing what His Word says. The doing is motivated by faith. However, if I'm reading the bible, but never allow it to change me, then when I look in the mirror, I will see me, not the One whose image I was created in. I was created to look like Christ. So what's stopping me? Not looking intently enough into His Word...being touched by His Word, but not changed by it (a concept courtesy of Beth Moore)...not hiding His Word in my heart...and not doing what it says.
Here's a little girl that has a cute as a button reflection in the mirror!
She loves playing in the kitchen. She empties it of everything.
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