Up Close and Personal

I can catch a passing reflection of myself

as I pass by a window,

a puddle,

a waxed car,

or a piece of tin foil.

If I stop for a longer glance,

I might notice that my hair needs brushing.

If the lighting is just right,

and if I strain my eyes into the distorted reflection,

I may be able to see well enough

to seize a stray bit of lettuce

that took refuge between my two front teeth.

But…

if I take the little concave mirror

out of my purse

and hold it really close

to my face,

I am able to see every pore,

every mole, every eyelash,

and every imperfection.

When I look into God’s Word,

what do I see?…

a distorted passing reflection?

a glance lengthened enough to fix what's messed up?

or a keenly focused attention on the Person of Jesus,

up close and personal?

~ae

“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. 

“But one who looks intently

at the perfect law (Jesus), the law of liberty,

and abides by it,

not having become a forgetful hearer

but an effectual doer,

this man will be blessed in what he does.”

~James 1:22-25