THE APOSTLE PAUL WROTE, “Look at what is before your eyes” (2 Cor. 10:7a). He continued, “Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves… when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding” (2 Cor. 10:12). We must each examine our own actions and assume responsibility for them without comparing ourselves to or rejecting others (see Gal. 6:4-5). In the same manner, we are responsible for how we appear to others. If they don’t see Christ in us, then Christ might not see us in Him. Just as a mirror reflects what you look like on the outside, God’s Word reflects what you’re like on the inside.
God’s Mirror
Have you ever seen yourself in the Bible? Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s Word discerns the ruminations of our heart. Scripture is our true spiritual mirror. Regardless of dispensation or covenant, we are told to find our image in the Word of God. With Scripture as our starting point, we take all action necessary to walk in God’s will. We will never see who we are in Christ without dying to our own moralism. This means turning from the world and its “horizontal” orientation to the Word and its “vertical” orientation.
Other Mirrors
I learned during my recovery from addiction that we tend to despise in others those character traits we hate in ourselves. Whenever I see my defects of character in someone else, I summarily judge and reject them, deciding they’re “too difficult to be around.” Worse, I use their blemishes to prop up my good traits. I also tended to project my bad traits onto others, deciding, “Well, at least I’m not that bad.” But it’s not possible to fully walk out our salvation with fear and trembling when we predicate it on the success or failure of those around us, for it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (see Phil. 2:12-13). The Greek verb rendered “work out” in this passage of Scripture (katergazoma) means “continually work to bring something to completion or fruition—an activity involving considerable expenditure of effort.” The way we avoid being arrogant in our “walk” is by using the Word of God as our mirror rather than comparing ourselves to others.
“A flower does not think of competing [with] the flower next to it. It just blooms.” —Theodore Roosevelt.
It should be our “life’s work” to walk out our salvation, with the goal of becoming more like Christ. Paul calls it “…conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). This is not optional. Paul says we must initiate the action and then participate in its effects, putting forth real effort to walk as Christ walked. The Christian life is not merely an exercise in passive trust; rather, it must be about active obedience! We cannot battle sin or discipline ourselves to do good by our own power. The flesh cannot control itself. It wants what it wants. Pastor Rick Warren asks, “When was the last time you looked in a mirror? You probably look in one every day—maybe even multiple times! Why do you look in a mirror? You use it to evaluate yourself. And then you do something about what you see.”1 He adds, “Just as a mirror reflects what you look like on the outside, God’s Word reflects what you’re like on the inside.”2
In a recent message, Pastor Brandon Mestach (from the local Christ Wesleyan Church) said we must always be available to be used by God in faithful practice of the faith. He calls this “active participation.” He said we must also practice the “religion of done.” In other words, from the knowledge that Jesus paid it all. He conquered sin and death. Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said, “I thirst” (John 19:29). Then, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30). Most of us keep fighting a battle that’s already won. But we were never supposed to “create” the victory over sin. Instead, trust in the redemptive work of Christ and go forth from the springboard of “done.”
Steven Barto, BS Psy, ThM
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references contained herein are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
References
1 Rick Warren, “How to Use the Bible Like a Mirror,” PastorRick.com (a blog), April 14, 2020, accessed Oct. 31, 2022, https://pastorrick.com/how-to-use-the-bible-like-a-mirror/
2 Ibid.
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