Dealing with what's in the Mirror
Good Morning,
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 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. James 1:22-25
I’m sure you have heard the saying, “The only constant is change”. Change is one of the most normal aspects of life and it is also one of the things people dread the most. In fact, many are willing to stay in harmful patterns of living, just to avoid the discomfort of changing.
For the Christ-follower however, change is vital. God has designed many facets of our life to create spaces and opportunities for us to change; to continue on a life-long journey of becoming more like Him. We are, after all, on a journey of personal holiness. It is a journey where we are always somewhere between “in progress and unfinished”. Author Paul Tripp calls this living between “already and not yet”.1. And he emphasizes that all of life is experienced in that space.
In the verses above we are encouraged to look into the mirror of God’s truth and reflect on it. And when we see things in our life that don’t reflect accordingly, we have a choice. We can ignore the inconsistency or make the necessary changes. The beauty of changing in accordance with the truth of Scripture is that it isn’t merely change for change’s sake. These changes bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and more fully alive in the life He desires for us. A measure of blessing is added.
The hard truth is that change can be difficult. The truth we tend to forget though, is that not changing makes and keeps life more difficult. The choice then is not between hard and not hard, but between staying stuck and growing. Between reflecting more of us or more of Him. Which choice will you make today?
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." - Leo Tolstoy
Live on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein
- From the book, What did You Expect by Paul Tripp
