“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” — James 1:22-24
Now, I would say that when most people get ready to leave their homes, including adults and children, they glimpse an image of themselves in a mirror just to give them confidence in their appearance, as they go about their day. Now, allow me to make another assumption. I would say that 0 percent of the people who look in the mirror as they leave their homes, will ever believe they aren’t wearing clothes after they see themselves in the mirror with clothes on.
When I look in the mirror each day, to see what I look like, I don’t believe I have ever forgotten what I looked like; and note that God hasn’t blessed me with a great memory. Yet, how many people go about their days, every single day, and forget that they are called to be a living sacrifice to God. We have even Christian leaders who proclaim their faith, but forget who they are, as they openly practice homosexuality and just ignore their sinful lives, but condemn sin in the lives of others. When I say, “I’m a Christian”, it doesn’t just mean I go to church on Sundays, or I pray at night sometimes, or I have a Bible in my house. Being a Christian to me is about my faith and desire to live a life like Christ. It means that I don’t just desire God’s mercy, but I allow others to hold me accountable for my actions. It means that I don’t just listen to my pastor for spiritual knowledge and encouragement, I read the same thing he/her reads, the Bible.
As I was shaving the other day, I asked myself, “Can it be? Is it possible that I have finally grown up?”. I think so. But, what does that mean, ‘grown up’? Let me think to myself… In the life that I have lived, that I can remember, I can think of various attributes that would signify an individual as a ‘grown up’; I would claim that the two main attributes would be a person’s age and their responsibilities. You know, I was in the store this past week, and a student of mine at a local high school recognized me, and said, “Hey, Mr. Perry!”. I slowly realized they were talking to me, as I looked around. Few people call me ‘Mr.’, and I’m not used to it especially since it’s summer time. I guess I’m going to have to start looking at myself as a full grown old man 🙂 , and remember what I see.
