When you look into the mirror you see an image of yourself that shows you just what you look like. The clearer the mirror, the clearer the image. James 1:22-24 says 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 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; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. When I read this scripture it helps me realize just how important it is to remember ” who I am” and what that means for me. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ our new life in Christ causes us to take on a new identity that is different than the identity we had before receiving Christ. We are a new person and that newness has many different connotations when making decisions about life and other things.
For me it means that the Bible becomes the resource for living my life. To me it is not a rule book, but a wonderful book of instruction for growing closer to God. If I follow the teachings of God’s Word I align myself with God and His plans for my life. The Bible can mean many different things to many different people, but it’s unwavering truth is still the same. It all fits together with incredible, life-changing, absolute truths that mold us into the best person we can become. So the person we become when we read God’s Word is a person that God is molding and changing for the good. So we read it, rely on it, and live it through a constantly changing life.
But just reading God’s Word without acting on it is only half the blessing. The fullness of the blessing of reading God’s word comes when we start living according to it’s teachings. We begin to “absorb” it and it starts changing every area of our life. Instead of just reading, we start doing what it says and that causes a radical change in how we approach life itself. Our day becomes centered around a conscious desire to please God in every area of our life. To keep from living out the instruction given in the Word of God is delusional as James says in verse 22. To prove we are doers of the Word is a huge step in the right direction. That step takes us to a whole new way of living and thinking. If Jesus had come up to the early disciples, who were fishermen, and said “From this moment on you will read about and think about being “fishers of men” they would have kept on fishing and just had grand thoughts about sharing the message of Christ. What a waste!! No, what he did was call them to mobilize and follow Him as He changed lives. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What did they do? Here is the very next verse. Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
The question is “What happened when you met Jesus?” Did you begin to read His Word and dream about serving Him some day? Or did you immediately leave all of your plans behind and begin following Him on a daily basis? I believe we have a lot of believers who read about, think about, and talk about serving Jesus, but the result is not serving at all. Jesus was always having to realign the disciples and remind them of who they were and who were they were serving. When Jesus washed the disciples feet in John 13:5-17 he explains and gives them a great example of “doing” and that example was first rejected by Peter in verse 8 where he says. “Never shall you wash my feet!” Then Jesus’ next words boom out where He says, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.” Wow, the part where Peter misses the whole point really screams out when Jesus continues on in verse 9-10 9 Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”10 Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”
We don’t live for Christ because it is our “duty.” We live for Christ because He is our “life.” We don’t just read scripture when the Holy Spirit is in our life, we absorb it and it changes who we are AND what we do. It is possible to read scripture and miss the whole point, just like Peter did when Jesus knelt to wash Peter’s feet. It is possible to read all about serving Jesus and never do it. It is not possible to reject serving Christ and grow in Him though. Growth is stunted at the point where we do nothing after learning everything.
So, when you look in the mirror “who do you see?” A person who is serving Jesus and growing in grace as you study God’s Word? Or a person who learns all about serving, but never does it? Next time you look at yourself in the mirror just ask “Lord, who am I?” Keep looking……yes an answer is coming and you will see the answer if you look deep in your eyes for any length of time. You are a new creature who has the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and is equipped to make “fishers of men.” Now, walk away from the mirror and remember who you are for the rest of the day and “live the dream.” You are a disciple of Jesus Christ and He wants to use your life for His Glory.
In the childhood story Snow White, the evil queen looks into the mirror and says these words, “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who’s the fairest of them all.” She wanted the mirror to say, “Oh queen you are.” Perhaps we need to look at our mirror in the morning and say “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the one that Jesus has called?” To which Jesus answers…..YOU! This life is no fairy tale, but a Godly truth. Read it, rely on it, live it, and find out who you really are “in Christ.” I hope you see more and more of Jesus in the image.
The Pilgrimage continues…..
David Warren
Komentar