Looking - Window or Mirror

Sometimes when looking at life, I look at myself as in a mirror and see what is reflected back at me, and to tell you the truth, I don't always like what I see. But it is still good to look in that mirror, so I can self-evaluate what I am seeing. When I look out a window, I am trying to see something, not me, on the other side of the window. To make my illustration, looking out a window is looking beyond myself and seeing what I can see. From this vantage point, I can make conclusions about what I am seeing and totally immerse myself in the vision in front of me because it has nothing to do with me. When I look in the mirror, I see my reflection of how I truly look, and then I have to deal with what I see. If I don't agree with what I see in the mirror, I can look away. If I am searching to see the "real" me, then I will look deeper into the mirror and let that image help me see who I really am.

James speaks to this mirror, glancing in James 1: ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. We need to look deeply into the image we see in the mirror and see how we "really" look to even ourselves. Self-reflection is not easy, but it is a good thing, and if we just glance at the mirror, in the glance we will miss some things because we don't give it our full attention. James went on to say that we need to look carefully at the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says, and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you.

Conclusion: Don't just watch the world through a mirror and be a casual observer without change in your heart. Look into the mirror deeply and see what God wants to change or what God wants to affirm in your life, and that is not only listening to the Word of God, but reacting with my life to the Word of God. When that happens, God blesses us.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren