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Morning Thoughts |
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James
1:23-24, "For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like
unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth
himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of
man he was."
This
morning, perception does not define reality, though quite often we live
our lives with that mantra. In every endeavor of society, we have to
make observations and attempt to critically analyze situations to
determine how we should think and proceed. However, no man being
perfect, the observation and analysis must always be tempered with the
thought that we are fallible creatures and susceptible to error. Still,
man's pride often impedes his willingness to accept that fact or at
least often employ it while going through life's situations. Perhaps a
boss has the wrong impression of his employees. Perhaps a child has the
wrong impression of his parents. Perhaps the church has the wrong
impression of her pastor. In each of these cases, the vice versa could
apply. As the old saying goes, "You never know for sure how a man is or
feels until you walk a mile in his shoes." May we temper our
observations and judgments with the reality of our own fallibility.
When
considering the pages of Holy Writ, one must start with the realization
that it is perfect. James goes on in the verse following our verses to
call the Scriptures the "perfect law of liberty." In other words, the
Bible does not present us a combination of truth and error (like
situations of life do), and therefore our analysis of this perfect law
of liberty does not include separating what is right from wrong.
Rather, our study of the Scriptures should only entail getting to the
specific truth under consideration and seeing how it affects us and
modify ourselves accordingly. As a wise old elder once told me, "When
you read the Scriptures, you can read them one of two ways: 1. use the
Scriptures to prove what you think or 2. use the Scriptures to prove
what to think. Choose the latter." Instead of forcing preconceived
notions upon the page, allow the page to declare what your direction
should be.
Notice James's thought above. Under consideration is a man who has
access to the word of God. This person also has heard the word spoken
through gospel power, but the reality is that many times the
consideration of God's perfect law stops with the hearing or reading of
it rather than extending into the practice of it. How many times have
you heard these sentiments, "Boy that sure was good preaching." "What
was it about?" "I don't know but it sure was good preaching."? Such a
circumstance falls squarely into the realm of James's discussion. The
point of the Bible and gospel preaching is not for an intellectual
exercise. Indeed, the Bible is the most logical, reasoned, and
completely true book ever written. However, our reading of it and
listening to the gospel is not to simply say, "Well that makes sense."
The point is to the see the sense of it and apply it like integrated
light that touches every recess of our life.
One
of the things that James compares the word to is a glass. This word
could aptly be thought of in our modern vernacular as a mirror. When
someone looks at himself in the mirror, the mirror does not make him
look like he looks. It shows people what they already look like. The
Bible and the preached gospel do not make us what we are, but they
reveal what we are. When a man leaves the mirror, no matter what he
thinks or does not think, the image the mirror gave him holds true.
When a man closes the Book or leaves a church service, the reality stays
the same even though the declaration is done for the time. Reality does
not change. However, the perception often does.
One
of the harshest realities the glass declares to us is that by nature we
are worms and wholly undone. (Romans 3:10-18) The picture and image is
not very comforting. However, that is the reality of our nature. We
are totally depraved by nature. Yet, one of the most glorious images of
the glass is that by grace we are made in the image of His Son first
through regeneration and then eventually in the resurrection. We do go
from one image to another as from glory to glory. (II Corinthians 3:18)
This is reality friends. Nothing changes it, for it is the way things
are. We can no more undo the image of grace any more than we could have
undone the image of depravity. We were wholly one, and we shall one day
be wholly the other. What if some, most, or even all do not perceive
this or do not accept it? It matters not, it is still reality.
Now
the hardest thing is to remember these things when not standing in front
of the mirror. Let us consider a number of regular, consistent life
situations that might lure us into thinking differently than the reality
of the glass and thereby be guilty of doing what James warns against in
our study verses. When at work or somewhere in the world, how do we
want to initially react when someone tries to run us down? If they
smack us, we want to smack them back. If they verbally taunt us, we
want to retaliate in kind. Why is that? The reason can simply be
boiled down to the fact that we many times think too highly of
ourselves. Whether we admit it in those words or not, we confess it
freely with our deeds. Though we may fiercely amen the point of not
deserving anything good when it is heralded from the pulpit, do we just
as fiercely amen the point with our deeds when we are in the trenches of
life? Sadly, I must confess that I often do not.
Another common situation in life is when someone becomes overwhelmed
with guilt. It can paralyze their life to such an extent that they are
rendered unprofitable for Godly service. Guilt can stunt the
development stymie the growth of a child of God. I have seen guilt
paralyze people to the point of fearing to return to church for the
shame they feel or even being around their families for fear of verbal
assault. Guilt can be a tricky thing as it does not always come in the
same way or linger for the same duration and season.
So,
what is the point of bringing up pride and guilt? What do they have in
common? The commonality between them is that they both apply to us not
remembering what we looked like in the glass when presented with the
image. Too much pride forgets the image of depravity that we fully bore
by nature and still bear in our old man of flesh. Too much guilt
forgets the image of glory and grace that declares in the soul and
spirit - and testifies in hope toward the resurrection - that we are
children of the King Almighty. Both actions, while opposite in
appearance, equally apply to forgetting our image. No matter what the
person thinks or says while beholding the image, those things pale in
comparison to seeing them and walking in them while not in front of the
mirror.
One
of the highest compliments I ever received about one of my sermons was
when someone told me, "I heard you preach some months back. Not long
ago, I faced something you preached about, and I tried to do what you
encouraged us to do in the sermon. You know, it really is the best
course of action." Brethren, those are the most resounding amens a
preacher can receive whether he is around to hear them or not. The
point of the Bible and preaching from the Bible is to do what is either
read or heard. As another wise old elder said, "The sermons a man
preaches with his feet will always speak louder than the sermons he
preaches from the pulpit. Likewise, the religion a person shows between
pew time will always testify more than the religion while in the pew."
Now,
it does behoove us here to plainly declare and state that sermons from
the pulpit and religion in the pew is not only good but necessary and
needful. Sometimes people today can become so enamored with personal
religion (living the Godly life) that they think the orderly public
worship is no longer of necessity. Friends, no matter how successfully
we have been in the trenches in a given season, we still need those
reminders from the mirror of the specifics of the image. No sermon
preached sticks with us in its entirety forever. No reading of the word
gleans everything or even retains everything that is understood. We
need the reminders of what is right and true, but coupled with that, we
need to remember that it has sufficient teeth and application to
navigate every avenue and question in life.
Friends, I rarely - if ever - like what I see in a natural mirror. I
like to tell folks that I never had to worry about losing good looks as
I never had any to lose. However, no matter what I think about the
image in the mirror, alas! that is me. It is how I look. No matter
what we think about the image in the spiritual mirror, that is the
reality. At first there is much alas! Then, it gives way to much
rejoicing. May our lives keep those two main images in refulgent view.
As such we will not fall victim to the oppressive nature of pride or
fall prey to the paralyzing influence of guilt. We are, sadly, members
of a ruined race of man, but we are just as surely members of the
glorious family of the Almighty. May our lives show forth these two
things, manifesting that we both hear and do the perfect law of liberty.
In
Hope,
Bro
Philip |