There is something comforting about peering into a mirror every now and then. It’s not so much a matter of gazing into your own reflection as it is looking for those things that are out of place, those things that don’t belong, those things you don’t want to see reflected back—the parsley between your teeth, the chocolate smeared on your chin, the hairs pointing in all the wrong directions. You don’t have to be image-obsessed to grasp the importance of the occasional glance in the mirror as a means of protecting yourself from awkwardness and embarrassment.
The mirror is probably one of my favorite biblical metaphors—the Bible as a mirror. I’ve reflected and written many times about the value and purpose of that mirror as we see it described by James.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 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. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 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.
As the mirror hanging on the wall reflects the outer man, the mirror of God’s Word reflects the inner man.
James portrays the Bible as a kind of mirror that reflects back the heart. As the mirror hanging on the wall reflects the outer man, the mirror of God’s Word reflects the inner man. For this reason every Christian needs to gaze into the mirror of the Word to assess the state of his heart. This is not a one-time glance but a regular stare. We need to study the image reflected back to understand who and what we really are. God’s Word has the unique ability to give clarity to what God demands and expects of us. It unmasks our sin, our rebellion, our foolishness, our immaturity, our idolatry. It displays the sin that remains, the sin that needs to be rooted out so we can be more and more conformed to the image of Christ. We are fools if we do not make it a daily habit to gaze into this mirror.
The Bible more accurately reflects the state of my heart than the mirror in my bathroom reflects the state of my body
What has been dawning on me over the past months is not just the value of gazing into this mirror, but the value and the challenge of believing what I see there. It is so easy to look and doubt, to look and deny. But if God’s Word is good and pure and holy and perfect, if God’s Word really is God’s, then it is absolutely trustworthy. This means that it’s not simply a matter of looking, but a matter of looking and believing. I need to trust what I see there. I need to trust this mirror more than I trust my own eyes, my own assessment. I may not like what I see there, I may not agree with what I see there, but I need to believe it. I need to believe that as the mirror hanging on the wall is an accurate portrayal of the outside, the mirror of the Word is an accurate portrayal of the inside. I need to believe that the Bible more accurately reflects the state of my heart than the mirror in my bathroom reflects the state of my body.
It is a privilege to have God’s Word, to have God’s mirror. It is a joyful responsibility to gaze into it, to study the reflection, to believe what I see, and to take action. It is a joyful responsibility to thank God for what I see there of the image of Christ and an equal responsibility to seek his forgiveness and to pursue repentance in all those areas where I do not see the image of Christ. The mirror is an opportunity to gaze and thank, gaze and repent, gaze and change.
Image credit: Shutterstock
