REFLECTION

REFLECTION

Bible: James 1:22-25

Reading

Do not merely listen to the word . . . Do what it says (V.22).

I ignored it for months. When the spot on my nose was still there after nearly a year, I finally asked a doctor to look at it. A few days later, I was told I had skin cancer and needed minor surgery to remove it. Even though the skin cancer was small and not life threatening, if I hadn’t taken action when I did, things might have ended up a lot worse. I realised my actions (or lack of action) made me like the kind of person James describes who “immediately forgets what he looks like” after looking in a mirror (JAMES 1:24). The Bible is the mirror that shows us who we really are and how we’re really doing. When we see the Bible describe how our actions and thoughts fall short of God’s ways, but don’t bother to say sorry or “do what it says” (V.22), we’re not much different from someone who ignores signs of illness in their body. We all want to be healthy. When the mirror of the Bible shows us a problem in our lives, we might want to ignore it, pretending we’re healthy and hoping it will go away on its own. But James says we’ll be happier if we listen to “the perfect law” that teaches us what God wants (V.25). God, help us to “do what it says”!

THE BIBLE IS A MIRROR FOR OUR HEARTS.

                                      Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries