Tag: James 1:23-25 - Only By Prayer

Ma—You’re so bad at the alphabet game!

My youngest son teased as I epic-ly (is this a word?) lost, yet again, another round of the famous Car Alphabet game. I was struggling on “J” as my three men shouted “Z” at the same moment. Yep. I stink at Car Alphabet. Why?

It’s all about the eyes.

From chronic conjunctivitis, blocked tear ducts, light sensitivity, tracking issues, letter reversals, astigmatism to a torn retina, my eyes have always been an issue. I don’t ever remember being able to see well. By the time I was in middle school, I was legally blind without corrective lenses. But, I have always been very thankful for my glasses and the fact I could see at all.

Aside from the obvious visual side effects, my vision challenges have also affected my self-esteem. Not being able to clearly see what I look like has caused me to lack confidence and as a result to avoid looking people in the eye. Who can be confident not knowing if ones eye makeup is applied correctly or hair is combed smoothly?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall.

Then came the mirror. Recently, my oldest sister introduced me to her latest purchase, an amazing techno-mirror complete with magnification and motion-sensitive LED lighting. Wow. Snow White’s stepmother would have been envious.

Within a few days I bought my own. I can see!

Make-up is smoothed to a flawless finish. Rogue eyebrows are brought under control in seconds. Dirty smudges are wiped away. The greatest transformation the mirror brought about though is how I feel about myself.

Knowing the truth about how I look has brought me wonderful freedom and peace.

The Bible does the same thing—it give an accurate picture of what we are really like. Please read the verses below.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:23-25

The mirror of Truth.

Interesting to note in Biblical times mirrors were not made from glass but metal—strong, tough durable—sort of like the Bible. The word used for mirror in James 1:23 is derived from optanomai, which means, to allow oneself to be seen.

Like my sister’s amazing techno-mirror, the Bible allows oneself to be seen,. It gives an accurate picture of the heart. Bad habits and character flaws are brought to light as we see ourselves reflected in the truth of scripture. Doing life with an obvious character flaw is like walking around with spinach in your teeth. Embarrassing! Everyone sees it except you. Like a real friend who tells you the truth, God has given us the mirror of His word so we can clearly see ourselves. He loves us too much to let us continue in our sin. When we clearly see our sin, we can ask God to wash us clean and makes us as white as snow.

Action Points.

Look in the mirror. In the morning, before you do your hair or brush your teeth, look into the mirror of God’s word. Spend fifteen to twenty minutes meeting with God each morning in the pages of scripture
What do you see? What is God showing you? What needs to change? If you can’t see anything that needs improvement you need to turn on the light or jack up the magnification on your mirror.
Remove it. When God shows you a flaw, don’t pull out the concealer. Instead, pluck it out with prayer and God’s truth. Find a scripture that applies to your problem. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Pray it. Speak it. Keep it up until your problem is under control.

Life is sweet. Take a look in the mirror.