Series: Man in the Mirror

 

Title: The Mirror Doesn’t Lie

 

Maybe you’re familiar with the famous song “Man in the Mirror” written by Michael Jackson

 

While we are not promoting his music nor his lifestyle, the chorus of this song contains some truth.

 

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could've been any clearer
If they wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

 

Change must come and it starts with taking a closer look at the man (or woman) in the mirror.

 

We all spend time looking in the mirror, some spend much more time than others.  Some people look into the mirror and like what they see while others struggle with what they see. Yet, the mirror doesn’t lie as painful or as pleasingat it may be.  

 

In this series we hope that the word of God would be as a mirror to you.  That you would see your true self and take ownership for who you have become not pass the blame onto others.

 

So, for a mirror to work, light needs to be present, the surface of the mirror must be perfectly smooth, and when light bounces off the mirror it will portray an image of whatever is in front of it. 

 

Another thing about mirrors is that they reverse the direction of the image in an equal yet opposite angle from which the light shines upon it.  Meaning if I wave at the mirror with my left hand, it would appear as though my reflection is waving at me with his right hand. 

 

In Biblical times a mirror was a polished metal surface held in the hand to see the reflection of objects because glass mirrors were not introduced until sometime in the 1st cent. after Christ

But the idea is the same, there is a reversal of the original image after the light has bounced off the mirror.

 

The thing about mirrors is that they do not lie.  They do not recreate who you are, they are simply a reflection of who you already are.  After being exposed in the mirror you can then decide to change something that you have seen which you did not like.  You can then look again in the mirror to see if the change is desirable or not.  But the mirror does not change who you are, you must take the action to bring about the change.

 

God’s word is like a mirror.

• It’s perfect, just as the surface of a mirror;
• It reflects the light of God’s glory onto an image (that image is you and I who were created in the image and likeness of God.) When exposed to the light, everything is made known much like every flaw is made known when looking into a physical mirror. 
• and God’s Word when applied to our lives reverses our sinful behavioral patterns and replaces them with patterns of righteousness.

Just as a mirror reflects what you look like on the outside, God’s Word reflects what you’re like on the inside.  But a person does not change by simply looking at the word.  It takes being both a hearer and a doer of the Word for change to come about.  

 

James 1:22-25

 

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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

 

According to James there are two different outcomes to looking into a mirror.  Being deceived or being blessed.

 

The deceived person

 

            Hears the Word but does not submit to the Word.

 

Charles Spurgeon –

 

Hearing of a feast will not fill you; hearing of a brook will not quench your thirst. The information that there is gold in the Bank of England will not enrich you; you need cash in your own pocket. The knowledge that there is a shelter from the storm will not save the ship from the tempest. The information that there is a cure for a disease will not make the sick man whole

 

 …blessings must be appropriated and made use of, if they are to be of any value to us. O sirs, you know what you should do, but you have not done it! You would very soon quit my door, and call me inhospitable, if I gave you music instead of meat; and yet you deceive yourselves with the notion that merely hearing about Jesus and his great salvation has made you better men. 

 

A person who hears the word and does not respond to the word is like a man who looks in the mirror and sees a smudge of dirt on his face yet does nothing to remove it.  In which case, he would have made a very poor use of that mirror.  The purpose of the mirror is not just to reflect an image but also to promote a response to the seen image.   

 

A better response would be to take a towel and wipe off the mud that smudged on his face in light of the mirror. 

 

The purpose of God’s Word is also to promote action upon reading it.  His Word shines into our lives and lets us know what is and what is not acceptable in His eyes. 

 

            Hebrews 4:12-13

¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

 

 

God’s Word is said to be living and active.  So, there is never a point in which God’s Word is dead, but it remains active.  It was true and powerful back then and it remains true and powerful today.

 

There is something about the truth of God’s word which connects us to God. 

 

God’s Word is sharp enough to separate:

• Soul and Spirit – Your soul is your personality and your emotions
• Joints and marrow – Joints are the thick, hard, outer part of the bone. Marrow is the soft, tender, living, inner part of the bone.
• Thoughts and intentions of the heart

 

The word of God is like a sword that is sharp enough to cut right through the outer, hard, tough part of a bone to the inner, soft, living part of the bone. 

 

Verse 12 says that God’s Word discerns your heart’s thoughts and intents.

 

Are we spiritual or are we natural? Are we born of God and spiritually alive, or are we deceiving ourselvesand spiritually dead? Are the "thoughts and intentions of our heart" spiritual thoughts and intentions or only natural thoughts and intentions. Only the "word of God" can "judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart"

 

That’s a reason many people don’t read the Bible. They’re afraid to look into the mirror of God’s Word and see themselves as they really are.

 

However, the point of the mirror is not to make known our condition to God, but to ourselves.  For He already knows our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts.  There is nothing hidden from Him.  So, the mirror (God’s word) is for our benefit.  It is so that we see ourselves as we are already seen by God. 

 

Looking back at the passage in

 

 James 1:25

 

²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

 

The Blessed person

           

            The blessed person looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty.  First off, He looks into it

 

Look- parakyptō to look carefully into, inspect curiously; of one who would become acquainted with something.

 

So, it’s more than just glancing at God’s Word, but it’s allowing God’s word to stir our curiosity so that we become well acquainted with it. Like cattle we must chew the cudd.  When His Word takes root in our heart it will then make way for the necessary change.

Charles Spurgeon - Such an individual hears intently and earnestly, laying his soul open to the influences of the truth, desiring to feel its holy power, and to practice its divine commands. That is the right kind of hearer— an earnest listener.

 

  …so a hearer who desires a blessing looks closely into the word. 

 

Often, we want the blessings of God apart from obedience to His Word.  It just doesn’t work like that.  Jesus, in His sermon on the mount tells us how to be blessed.  Here are just a few. 

 

            Matthew 5:6-10

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The blessed person who looks into the mirror (God’s Word) must ask his or herself the question:

“Do I hunger and thirst for righteousness?”         Not: “my grandfather was a deacon”

“Am I merciful to others?”                                 Not: “You don’t know what they did to me”

“Is my heart pure?”                                           Not: “I’ll do whatever I want when I want.”

“Am I a peace maker?”                                      Not being one who stirs up drama

“Am I persecuted for being righteous?”              Not: I’m too ashamed of the gospel

If we want to be like the 2^nd hearer who is considered blessed, then we must allow God’s word (mirror) to shine in the depths of our lives and to expose anything that is not of Him.  Otherwise, you’re only deceiving yourself.

A blessed person is one who upon looking at the Word, sees his or herself for who they truly are, then repents, and asks Christ to change them by His power.  It is then that person finds liberty (freedom) through Christ Jesus. 

 

But looking intently at the Word of God and allowing His word to be like mirror in our lives must be a continuous thing that we do and not just a one-time thing.  Because the mirror doesn’t lie.