“MIRROR, MIRROR…” (Or, What It Means to Be a Doer of the Word)

The mirror isn’t my friend first thing in the morning, especially after a late night. Bleary eyes, hair every which way — I look as bad as I feel! I shut my eyes, grab a washcloth, and start scrubbing:  only when I’ve dried my face and brushed my hair do I look back in the mirror, hoping that other face is gone.

I always take a second look.  What would happen if I just walked out like that?  I can imagine the reaction.  “Doesn’t she know what she looks like?” they would whisper behind my back.  “Doesn’t she have a mirror??”

Hearers who forget

This is what St. James is talking about when he says “If any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (James 1:23-24).

In other words, when I read something in the Bible that points out a need in my life and then do nothing about it, it’s like looking in the mirror and seeing a huge blemish on my face – and leaving it there.

James continues:

 “But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty [Scripture], and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing” (vs. 25).

“Persevering” is what I do in the mirror after I get over the shock of that first sight:  I do something about the state of my face. Unfortunately, a mirror can’t tell me how to fix what I see there.  But the mirror of God’s word holds up to my face the image of Christ.  It gives me the standard so I can see where I need to make changes.

Doers who act

James says to “persevere” in the Word, be “a doer that acts.”  He’s warning us to not just read the Bible and smile and move on.  We might as well not read it at all.  Instead,

• Look into it deeply.
• Hold it up against your life, ask the Lord how it applies to you.
• When you see where you fail to measure up, do something about it.

And bit by bit, you’ll be conformed to the image of Christ.

May you be blessed in your doing!

 

“Blessed … are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:28).

 

Originally published 10/8/14 on the Great Adventure blog. © 2014 – 2026 Sarah Christmyer.