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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
JAMES 1:23:25 ESV¹
The mirror has the ability to copy the visible reflections of the world in its own figural reality. Scheler and other philosophers associated mirrors with thought because it is a mental instrument that works by reflecting and enabling one to observe yourself. The mirror is the most universal human experience that has heightened our awareness in the avoidance of pain; physically, emotionally and mentally. We bury our pains as a sign of strength and panic if there’s nothing to distract us.
The world has changed dramatically over the last two decades or more. The once dependable and esteemed consensus judeo-Christianity principles are melting away faster than the polar ice caps. It’s a rift between managing current deficits of a fast pace world and the desired capabilities of our Christian faith. The digital revolution age with all its advancement can’t seem to figure out the man in the mirror holding all the secrets of mankind. In the face of such breakthrough solutions to recurring issues like recessions, corruption, social media policies, political gridlock, shifting demographics and terrorism, is it possible that what we encounter daily is only a means to expose the brokenness hidden on the inside of us or who we truly are without Christ?
“Our world treats weakness and failure as terminal. Few consider brokenness as God’s design and will for our lives,” Peter Scazzero wrote². One glance at our heroes of faith in scripture reminds us that God uses imperfect people. The proverbial questions like, “What is life all about?” or “Is this all there’s about life?” have tortured us all at one time or another no matter how successful or challenging life may be. These questions linger in the shadows waiting to pounce on us when our backs are against the ropes and the posture of our heart is in a slump. Yet when we face the mirror we stand tall despite the foreknowledge of the man in the mirror. It’s as though whatever is wrong with the world around us has little to do with us.
Our brokenness and imperfections represent our need for a savior.
¹ The Bible. English Standard Version.
² Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Church: A Strategy for Discipleship That Actually Changes Lives. Zondervan, 2003.