James 1:22-24

"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 observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was" James 1:22-24

I looked into the mirror today - and I saw a hideous man looking back at me! Ever done that? My wife had a beautiful cousin, her name was Mei Ying. I remember staying at her house one night and getting up to go to the bathroom and being scared half to death. I saw a strange woman in the house, one I had never seen before in my life. When I told my wife about it in the morning, she said it was Mei Ying without her wig and make-up. Sorry, cousin Mei Ying. You know I Love you.

But I'm not talking about the mirror in my bathroom. I looked into the mirror of my soul. That's where the hideous creature stared at me. Its then that I realized that it isn't the thickness or thinness of the body - or hair; its not the lack of a night's growth of beard; its not even the missing "morning breath," nor is it the makeup or clothes that makes a man - or woman beautiful. Its what's inside.

I guess the Lord is showing me some changes that need to be made. I cry, "but Lord, I've tried before - and failed! Its hopeless!" I sense Him saying, "So let me do it. All you have to do is give me what you see in the mirror." Stubbornly, I cling to the "uglies" of my life. They may be ugly, but they are MY ugly.

"But Pastor Edwin, you are a doer of the word," you may be saying. And indeed I try to be. But the Lord has been showing me through His Word, through my wife, through my best friend, through the books I read that I must do some inner remodeling. In this I am NOT a doer of the Word. I am a hearer only.

What do you see in your mirror? Do you like what you see? Are there small blemishes that mar a nearly perfect image? Or, do you see a menacing monster staring out of bloodshot eyes? One that wants to devour you - and your relationship with your God? Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.