Wednesday, November 02, 2022

"Mirrors Don't Lie"

James 1.21b-24 NASB

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 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.”

Mirrors tell the truth. They say it like it really is. There are very few people with Hollywood star-quality looks. Mirrors prove that. Mirrors reveal to the honest mirror-looker what everyone else already knows. Look in a mirror. You may or may not like what you see. But what you see is visual reality. Mirrors don’t lie. They cannot lie. 

Politicians ‘spin’ the truth. Photographers enhance the truth. Salespeople embellish the truth. Fishermen exaggerate the truth. Addicts ignore the truth. But mirrors tell the truth. 

Can you bear to take a mirror into your soul? There you cannot be a victim. You will find no one to blame. It’ s just you alone with you. What you see is super-visual, spiritual reality. Look deeply into this mirror. Memorize every broken, marred, and blemished detail in your reflection of self. Never forget the image. Be faithful to what you see. Be real with Jesus and everyone else.

“But prove yourselves doers of the word, not merely hearers 
who delude themselves... like a man who looks... in a mirror;... and gone 
away, [and] has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.”
___________________

The photo above is called "Reflection in the mirror" by photographer Sergey Mikhalchik from Copenhagen.  You can view his excellent work on "Yet Another Blog" at http://www.mikhalchik.com/.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, there is a grand canyon width of difference between being a hearer and a doer of the word. I wonder how many of us settle for being saved when in fact God has so much more in store for us, so many more blessings planned for us if we will simply be doers of the word, if we will simply obey.

One of the things that God is working with me on these days is having me listen to the holy spirit. If I am listening and hearing, and if what I am hearing is in line with scripture, then the only thing left to do is obey.

A few months ago I heard the holy spirit say: "time to get back to your Tuesday morning men's group." So I did. Shortly after that, I heard the call to attend Tuesday afternoon bible study with Dave Gillihan and then Friday morning bible study with Dave Scriven. So I did. Mr Scriven: a few weeks ago when you spoke about Pastor Ron, I really felt the call of the holy spirit to write him and lift him up, so I did.

It's amazing, the more I listen to the holy spirit and the written word, and the more I chose to obey, the more clearly it is I hear that word and the more clear those directions for my life are. Recently I have heard the call not just to be involved in bible studies, but to do something about it.

"Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted from the world."

So I have heard from the holy spirit very clearly that God wants me to be involved downtown in the lives of the homeless and the poor. Two days ago, on October 31st, I stopped by the Union Gospel Mission to simply ask how I could help. The opportunities there are endless as there isa a never ending stream of people that need our help. At this time, I'm not sure where this will lead. There are many in my men's care group who have suggested we get involved in such an opportunity and serve united as brothers. This idea is truly exciting for me. May God's will be done.

Dave, awesome blog, love it. See you first thing tomorrow.

--------Jim Murphy

davescriven said...

Thanks for your comments, Jim. Great stuff. See you at the men's meeting tomorrow.

Dave

Anonymous said...

The reaction selection is missing an "outstanding" selection. Certainly if one is to love others as themselves, one must see themselves honestly and then certainly forgiven in needed and absolutely loved by the Father.
I posted this on FB.