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. But 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.    James 1:23-25 NKJV

You have heard me say many times that Bible study is important. It’s one thing to read the Bible, but a whole other thing to actually study it. I know from my own personal experience I read a passage and may not even truly understand what it said. When I study a passage and read commentaries on that passage it gives me a deeper meaning. This helps me to fully understand what God expects of me.

Once we hear, we must do. If you tell your child to do something and they acknowledge that they hear and understand what you said, you expect them to do it, right? Well, as God’s children, He expects no less from us. The Bible is a beautiful love letter from God to us. It is also a guide or instructional manual for how He expects us live our lives. We are told that our obedience leads to eternal life while disobedience leads to death.

James compares someone who hears and receives God’s word but does not follow through in action as a man who looks in the mirror. When we look in the mirror we may see something wrong, but if we don’t work to correct it, what’s the point.

I may look at a smudge on my face, but if I don’t wash it away, I may forget it’s there. Studying God’s word gives us an opportunity to see how we measure up according to God’s standards. We can’t just consider ourselves to be a good person by the world’s standards and think it’s good enough.

If you look into God’s word as you would look into a mirror, what do you see? Do you see someone that does their best to conform to God’s rules? Or do you see someone with a few smudges that need to be removed? The time to remove them is while you are facing them in the mirror of God’s word.

Study His word, do His word. Use His word as your mirror. When you look into His word and see areas of your life that need to be cleaned up, do it. This is where we all say, “Well, that is easier said than done.” And you are right. But praise God, He tells us how to clean it up.

We are told in 1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If you look in the mirror of God’s word and see sin and disobedience, act on it. Clean it up with God’s help. God wants us all to spend eternity in heaven with Him. Jesus provides the way for us to do so (John 14:6).

Study His word. Hear what He is telling you through His word and do what it says. This way when you see something wrong when you look in the mirror, you can clean it up and move on.

Have a great day!