December 8

The Mirror Of Truth

For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. — Jas 1:23-24 BSB

There is an old fable of a palace where one room was more remarkable than all others because it was lined with a special type of glass. Whenever someone entered whose life was inconsistent with truth, the surface of the mirrors would blur, preventing them from seeing themselves clearly. In a similar way, the Apostle Paul, when comparing his self-righteousness with the love and purity of Christ, lost all hope of justifying himself. He confessed that the things he had once counted as gain were actually a loss.

Truth and love are inseparably connected. Love is from God, and so is truth. If you possess one, the other will follow. When a soul looks into the mirror of God’s Word and sees a blur, it should set to work on removing whatever caused it. As we continue in this attitude, not being forgetful hearers but doers who work, we will be “blessed in our doing.”

The blessing lies in doing and becoming. It is only as we act that we grow. Even beholding Christ will not make us Christlike unless we put into action what we discover in Him. Hearing alone is fleeting, like a breeze passing over water. We look into the mirror of God's truth, but if we immediately forget what we saw, there is no change. Progress in the Christian life comes when we stop being forgetful hearers and become diligent doers.

Listen carefully to the Word of Truth, whether written or spoken. Be quick to notice any inconsistency between your life and the perfect beauty of Jesus, and set yourself immediately to correct it. Be merciful to others' faults, but merciless with your own. Leave no sin unaddressed, and no duty undone. For you to live, let it be Christ. Your blessedness and happiness will come from choosing the Christ-life and doing what He calls you to do.

Prayer

Help us, Lord, to remove everything that is contrary to Your peace or outside of Your will, so that our lives may be marked by trust, faith, and obedience, longing for Your truth and walking in its light. Amen.