22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 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.
We all, at one time or another, forget about the man in the mirror. The man that stares back at us when we look with intent. We always notice the flaws and imperfections that come along with our natural appearance. We turn our heads every direction until we become satisfied with what we see, or we become disgusted and walk away. This trait, is natural in our behavior, but spiritually we never go that detailed. We never look with such intent that we can see those very same pores that are filled with dirt and oil. We always walk away before we see something we don’t want to see. Or for some… Covering the face up, hiding everything underneath.
James is referring to our relationship with God/Christ as the man who never has pure intentions to examine his own life. To point out every detail and remember how or why God made him the way he did. We simply move forward, forgetting about the words that God has told us to follow. To give ourselves a deceptive spirit that will lead us further away from Him… And as we deceive ourselves more and more over time we forget all about that man in the mirror. The perfect image that Christ designed us to be.
As usual, the first to go are all the little details. All those scriptures that make the word of God full and gives us a deeper relationship with Him. Then we lose the outlines. Not able to decipher when scriptures start or when the scriptures end. Lastly, we forget all about the colors. The tones and impressions that give us our basic principles of what people see, we simply lack the ability to hold fast to the words He asked us too. Our image becomes faded, and sooner rather then later, we find ourselves clinging to the feelings we once had… And only holding onto those scriptures that we have twisted to fit our needs… The bumper sticker scriptures that makes us feel good for a moment to appease the masses and ourselves.
The entirety of 2 Timothy 3 describes this scenario all to well. Those who have a desire to follow their own lust, their own pride, lovers of their own pleasures. These people resist the truth of scripture inwardly… So many, think this is not them… Yet, this is the scariest part… Most of these people who think they “know” they are saved, or “know” they follow God, they are the very same people 2 Timothy is talking about in the beginning. (2 Tim 3:5) Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Too often, for these “Christians”, scriptures are out of date or have very little importance in their life.
Maybe I’m wrong or just being hard… But I think these people are either not saved… thinking they are, or they are young babes in Christ trying to find themselves through the weeds of false scriptures and false prophets.
But the man of God (2Tim) carefully follows the doctrine. (James)He looks into the perfect law of Liberty and continues in it.. He has faith in the word of God, loves intentionally, and has perseverance through trials and tribulations. For those who truly follow God know that all the word of God is (2 Tim 3:16)profitable for reproof and correction.
We all should want to be that man who remembers his image when he walks away from the mirror. We should long to know every shade and wrinkle… Those deep scriptures that keep us rooted in our faith. To know God’s design of who we are, when we walk away from the mirror. For the real image that should be staring back at us, is not the image of our own doing, or what others see on the outside, it is the image of Christ!! (2 Cor 4:16-18) The inward man… Striving to look like Him, more, and more everyday.
For sin and disobedience is not a quality or personality of who God made us to be. To truly know who you are, to truly understand who God made you to be, the word of God needs to be applied to your life, to renew you afresh. Not just for your benefit, but to help guide and protect your brothers and sisters, on who Christ wants them to be. For your duty, is not one of selfishness but of selflessness, of love, of sacrifice, as Christ (through His perfect Law of Liberty), and to help them become that man or woman God He intended them to be… Remember the man in the mirror. For God/Christ sacrificed everything to be with you, you should sacrifice everything to be with Him.
