Bible Ballistics: Mirrors? February 9 2014 Vol.3 No.13
I had an interesting experience this week and it’s the basis of what I want to share today. One of my children was leaving the house being a bit snippy and maybe even a bit sarcastic, and as they were walking off it hit me like a ‘ton of bricks’—“He’s acting like his mother”, so I popped out of the door and said, “I see the family resemblance” in a joking way, but God brought to my heart the seriousness of my own words. Whose likeness do I show to my children? To others?
What kind of influence are we being on the lives of those around us? Especially those who are still privileged to have young children around on a regular basis. Is it just my words that affect them? Or is it my actions? My attitude? There is an old proverb that says, “Your actions are speaking so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying!!!!” Does the Word have anything to say about that? One of the things most of us do every morning is look in the mirror. Now, we might not always like what we see staring back, but we look—then most of us comb, brush, fix-up and correct any part of our appearance that may need some attention after getting out of the bed. Well, what about our character, our living?
James 1:22-26, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass (mirror): 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty (God’s Word), and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”
Am I living the life of a ‘doer’ of the word, or a life of the ‘hearers only’? In my walk? In my home? In my job? In my “church”? Ouch!!! James says that if we are only ‘hearers’ we are ‘deceiving’ ourselves, and that our ‘religion’ is vain. That’s pretty harsh, but a truth we all need to consider.
Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
God commended Abraham in saying that he would ‘command his children…..after him’, in other words, Abraham would not only teach his family with words but lead them with his actions. Our actions should be the defining mark of our lives. Will God commend my handling of my ‘mirror’? My reflection of HIM to my family and the world?
Joshua 4:21-22, “And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? 22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.” We are to tell them what God has done for, and in us!!
And the ultimate chapter in all of scripture that shows how we are to live our lives before others, especially our children is Deut. 6:5-7, & parts of 20-25
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” …20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? 21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, …… before our eyes: 23 And he brought us out from thence, ……. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, ….. 25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.”
God gives us a wonderful picture of a ‘mirror’ here, the reflection that we are to be of God’s truth, grace and character. Moses tells us that it begins when we personally ‘love the Lord OUR GOD’ with our whole heart, soul and might. We can’t share with our children or anyone else unless we know God personally, unless we are born again (see John 3:1-19). We are to love God devotedly, and to live that love out in front of our family and the world. Then I am to teach what I ‘personally’ believe to those under my influence—in all that I do. To take advantage of every teachable moment, to live and express truth to my children and others in my sphere of influence. God says that when we share with our children and live it before them, there will be a time when they will ask us why we ‘do what we do’. We are then to share with them the truths of our relationship and experience with God.
What do you have to share? What has God done for you? Have you shared it with your loved ones and friends? Have you lived in such a way that others want to know why you live that way? Thoughts to ponder for today. As James asked, are we ‘doers of the word’? Or ‘hearers only’? Are we the one who looks in a mirror and forgets what it reveals? Or are we the one who looks in God’s perfect law (His Word) and lets it transform us into a mirror of God’s character.
As 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
The choice is OURS!!! We must choose wisely, others are watching and following US every day!! What will they see in our “mirror” today? Tomorrow? Each day?
