The Reflection

James 1: 22-25 “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. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

Introduction

The concept of looking at ourselves goes back to the dawn of civilization

Ancient civilizations used water, then people began using polished stone and copper

Glass mirrors did not starting to come into culture during the first-century CE, and it’s been only the last few hundred years that mirrors (as we know them today) became part of culture.

Mirrors are interesting, and there are a number of Urban Legends and spiritual views that revolve around the use of mirrors....which we will not go into here

Mirrors by their very nature reflect. They reflect what is before them.

Flat mirrors reflect the image retaining its original quality, convex & concave mirror reflect the image (and light) in curved ways

Sometimes they inadvertently distort images (think dressing rooms at clothing shops)

Mirrors are useful for so many daily activities,

including brushing hair & teeth, shaving, makeup, etc

but also

James’ main point is this: Christians—followers of Christ—hear and respond

James, possibly the brother of Jesus, used a mirror to illustrate two types of people who look at God’s Word

Those who see, then forget

These are the ones who read or hear the Bible but are unfazed

Those who see, then act

These are they who read or hear the Bible and respond

Conclusion

We have two choices:

make necessary alterations

walk away and forget about it

Theory—Satan wants us out of the word of God so we will no longer see what we are really like.