James 1:23-25 NIV
23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Most everyone has heard the line from “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” where the evil queen says “Mirror, mirror on the wall; who’s the fairest of them all?”
Mirrors are a helpful tool. They tell us when our hair is messed up. They tell us when we have food on our face. They reflect what we look like.
For the purpose of this lesson, we are not talking about the mirror we look at in order to see our physical being.
No, we are talking about a much more important “mirror.” It is “the mirror of our heart” and it gives us a glimpse of our thoughts and motivations. It is a moment of introspection where we consider our spiritual growth progress, our thoughts, our actions, the words we use, our treatment of others and whether we harbor any anger or God forbid, any hatred.
Why should we do this often?
1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
When we take this introspective look at the mirror of our heart, we must be prepared.
** Our mirror must be clean; not dirty. It must give us a clear picture of ourselves. It must give us a clear picture of God.
** Our mirror must not be distorted, like those funny mirrors that change appearances. Our mirror must show facts and truth. In other words, it must show things as they really are.
** We must begin the process with the commitment to be honest with ourselves. We must commit to not rationalize, justify or outright deny what we find in the mirror, if it is not pleasing to God.
** We must use God’s Word to guide us as we look into the mirror of our heart.
** We must be willing to change whatever needs to be changed.
The evil queen needed the help of the magic mirror to get her answer.
We must seek the help of God through His Holy Spirit to help us see ourselves as we truly are.
Don’t be afraid and don’t delay. If we want to grow spiritually and walk closer with God, we must frequently examine ourselves to determine if our words, actions and thoughts represent our Lord and are a light to those we encounter.
Some people avoid a mirror because they don’t like what they see. Likewise, some people will never look at the mirror of their heart, fearing what they might find.
The evil queen wanted to find something good in her mirror.
In order to please God and walk closer with Him, we should want to find whatever is not good in the "mirror of our heart" and fix it immediately.
RVH