Who is in the Mirror?

I’m goofy. I know it, embrace it, and, much to my family’s chagrin, have no shame over it! I love to laugh, even if I’m laughing about something stupid I have done. Sometimes God gives me little glimmers of truth from my goofy antics. Like my elevator incident. 

I was staying at a hotel with my husband while we attended a wedding. I was alone in the elevator and began looking around, observing my surroundings. I looked up toward the ceiling and felt a rush of adrenaline! Someone was staring back at me! I immediately screamed, then began laughing hysterically (mind you, still alone in the elevator) when I realized that the person staring back at me was my own reflection. The elevator happened to have a mirror on the ceiling. How had I not recognized myself?!

After I recovered from laughing, the Holy Spirit immediately brought to my mind the sobering passage in James 1:22-25, which says “Do not merely listen to 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 someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” 

I began to think about the times I have listened to a sermon or read a particular scripture with a feeling of conviction to respond in a certain way, but then walked away and lost my focus. Forgotten to reach out to that person who is hurting. Forgotten to confess that sin. Forgotten to release my tight grip on something Jesus should be carrying for me. James says I will be blessed if I look “intently.” The enemy loves to keep me busy and distracted so that I don’t take the time to look intently. He wants me to have an emotional reaction to the truths in God’s Word but not take the time to incorporate those truths into my life. Focusing intently takes conscious effort. God wants more than my emotions. He wants my will and my focus. It is my prayer that we will all mull over God’s Word intently, so that our lives reflect His truths. 

Mirror

Brought face to face with the mirror, I wonder if people can see
Not just my outward reflection, but the Jesus who lives inside me.
And you, Lord, what do you see there? Do you have the throne in my heart?
Or do I take charge of my own life? And leave Jesus just one little part?
It’s a question of total commitment. Like a sculptor, You give my life form
Only if it is yielded in fullness, not a half-hearted faith that’s lukewarm.
You have called me to share it with others. So many are searching for You.
How sad if I fail to take notice and sit complacently on some church pew.
Lord, give me the boldness to step out and share the love in my heart that keeps growing
to millions of people who are longing to hear of a Christ that they die without knowing.
-Bobbie Perkins

Reflect and Respond:

Do you read the Bible or go to church expectant that God has a message for you? What might help you focus on that message and not be distracted by lunch plans or your “to do” list? 
How can you narrow your focus to continue “intently” in your faith?
Is there a part of your life that you still need to yield to God?

Dear God,
Please forgive me for not following through with the truths you communicate to me. Help me to respond to you in obedience with my focus on You. Thank you for your Word that reveals the offenses of my heart and directs my paths. In your name, Amen.