A Look in the Mirror

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“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

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 1:21-25

As I read this I felt this conviction in my spirit; how often do I have the word of God before me and skim over it because “I already know what that says.” Does that scream a major pride issue to you? It never really has for me until today, and how many times have I read that scripture…A lot. How many times have I read a book or even this blog and skimmed right past the scripture to get to the “rest of the story”? It is actually quite embarrassing when I really think about it. Books and this blog are simply tools. They are not meant to be the nourishment that I need. Nourishment, the one that does not leave me thirsty, comes wholly and completely from the word of God.

My heart hurts and I cry out to God for His forgiveness. Tears come to my eyes as I think of all the times God had a word for me and I missed it because I did not come humbly before His word. How many times I did not believe the word of God to be “living and active” as Hebrews 4:12 tells me it is. Oh, I pray that I will never make that mistake again. I pray that my pride will be crushed so that I can be built only upon the Rock, my God.

This brought me to a place where I think of my children. Daily we go to the word of God together, we memorize it, talk about all the stories and applications. They are much younger than I was when I started reading the Bible.

I think of the people that I know who grew up in church and could run circles around me with their knowledge of where things are in the Bible and the scriptures they have memorized. Some of those people immediately come to mind when I think of the pride of not coming humbly before the word of God and some when I think of the most humble people I know.

So what is the difference? I think James makes it clear that the difference is pride but how do I raise children who are humble and not prideful? How do I raise children who humbly go before God’s word knowing it is living and active and that God has a word to give them in the moment?

Claiming to know the answers to my questions would just be ridiculous, because I don’t. I have some ideas based on scripture and the outcomes I have seen in other families. I think, as it is with so many things, that we have to live it out for our kids to see.

Do they see me as the person who looks in the mirror, goes away and immediately forgets what they look like? Do they see me read my Bible every day? Yes, but is that it? That is me looking into the mirror but what happens when I walk away.

I heard a great analogy once it went something like this: The bible is like our mirror. We get up, go look in the mirror, and see our hair is all a mess. The mirror does not fix our hair we have to use a hairbrush to do that. The hairbrush would be going to Jesus.

Just like brushing all those snarls out is harder than looking in the mirror, so is letting Jesus do the real work that needs to be done in our heart. It often comes with pain. But the end result is good.

If I can be a picture for my children of what it looks like to be humble before the word of God, I think that is a place to start. I can’t ask them to be something I am not. We always want better for our kids. We don’t want them to have the same messes we have had. So maybe it all starts with letting them see just what God can do with our mess.

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11