THE BROTHER OF THE LORD , James, warns “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:16-17) He adds, successively, “Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:21) And, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1:23)
Too often, we gaze at such a warning and consider only the ominous overtones – it reeks of the ‘thou shalt nots’ so prevalent in the stench of legalism so commonly permeating our religious traditions. Nevertheless, the warning is appropriate, for we are quite common clay, the living metaphor of poorly fashioned vessels so precariously holding the gift of God. We are prone to that which the bible warns is “the sin that so easily entangles us.” (Heb. 12:1) Our inner eye becomes filled with the vision of “the powers of this dark world, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) So great are such powers that Jesus says, forebodingly, “But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23)
We must instead decidedly focus our eyes away and above the sinister and seductive whispers from the dark, for we know whom such sotto voce murmuring comes. So we turn from the powers of accusation to the power of the affirmations of the one who loves us. We “Fix our eyes upon Jesus,” (Heb. 12:2), the one whose “name is above every name” (Phil. 2:9b), who God sent to “to destroy the devil’s work.” (Heb. 12:2d) Because of him, through his apostle Peter, we know that “We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9)
God created us “in his own *image. ” (Gen. 1:27) The biblical truth here is not anthropomorphic, but speaks of a God-likeness of character and virtues of personality. We see this best in Jesus, God in human form as “the image of the invisible God.” (Col. 1:15a) Because of and through Jesus, says Peter, there is available to us a different focus than darkness, and that focus shifts our sense of who we are. We become aware of a new source of belief, thought, and motivation in the central aspects of our identity. (cf. Rom. 12:2, 2 Cor. 5:17)
Peter starts by saying, “To those who have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2 Pet. 1:2) The true knowledge of God leads us into a real understanding at a deeply personal level that banishes anxiety, if we will train ourselves in the truth of his presence in our daily lives. And this truth, says Peter, is that God’s “Divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who has called us.” (2 Pet. 1:3) He adds, “He has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Pet. 1:4)
We live in daily spiritual warfare. Yet we also live daily in God, as Paul proclaims, “I in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28a) The truth of God is that we have been set free (cf. John 8:36) in and by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. If we constantly look at darkness and listen to the voice of the accuser, we may lose sight of this. But if we keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, practicing faith and obedience as habitual spiritual exercise, we find our true image in his image. Paul reflects, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18)
It is not Satan’s temptations and accusations that trip us up every time that we face adversarial circumstances; oftentimes, it is simply our own lack of will in accomplishing the internal and external tasks we receive from the Lord. We are frequently beset by our own inertia in the face of life’s shifting circumstances. But let us not forget two things.
First, there is no doubt that, despite our ineptitude in the face of trials, we do have an adversary that seeks to destroy us. Peter tells us that, “Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8)
The second thing, however, far outweighs the first. John affirms, “The one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) And Paul reassures, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13) If it is true that we tend to become what we behold, then it behooves us to be careful what, or more specifically, who we look at. One of the greatest lessons to learn in our disciple’s walk is to resolutely turn away from the accuser, and to keep Jesus firmly fixed in our sight. The more we gaze upon him, the more we will become like him.
Q. What do I see when I look in the mirror?
*Strong’s 6724 – “Likeness of resemblance.”
**Strong’s 1504 – “An image of heavenly things.” “Likeness not only to the heavenly body, but also to the most holy and blessed state of mind, which Christ possesses.
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