Our Daily Bread for February 18, 2015

Mirror, Mirror

February 18, 2015

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He who . . . is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. —James 1:25

Read: James 1:19-27
Bible in a Year: Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22

How often do you see your reflection in a mirror? Some studies say that the average person looks in a mirror 8 to 10 times a day. Other surveys say it could be as many as 60 to 70 times a day, if glancing at our reflection in store windows and smart phone screens is included.

Why do we look so often? Most experts agree that it’s to check our appearance, especially before meetings or social gatherings. If something is amiss, we want to fix it. Why look if we don’t plan to change what’s wrong?

The apostle James said that reading or hearing God’s Word without acting on it is like looking in a mirror and forgetting what we’ve seen (1:22-24). But the better alternative is to look closely and act on what we see. James said, “He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (v.25).

If we hear God’s Word without taking action, we fool only ourselves (v.22). But when we examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and obey His instructions, God liberates us from all that keeps us from looking more and more like Him each day.—David C. McCasland

Thank You, Lord, for the Bible, Your Word to us. Give us wisdom and guidance as we read its pages. Make us sensitive to Your voice and give us hearts to obey.
The Bible is a mirror that lets us see ourselves as God sees us.

INSIGHT: Various metaphors are used in Scripture to describe God’s Word: a mirror (James 1:23); fire and a hammer (Jer. 23:29), a lamp (Ps. 119:105), water (Eph. 5:26), a two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12), a seed (1 Peter 1:23), food (Job 23:12), and milk (1 Peter 2:2). The Word of God reveals, consumes, breaks, illuminates, purifies, convicts, regenerates, satisfies, and nourishes the believer. It is not enough to know God’s Word; we need to obey it (James 1:22-25).

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