But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. – James 1:22-25 ESV
Warrior;
The moon puts off no light, yet it lights the night sky. The moon get’s its light from the sun. The moon reflects the light of the sun and it can light up the night sky on an entire planet. How many lives are you lighting for Jesus? We are to be like the MOON, and reflect the SON. If you have ever used a mirror to reflect light then you know it is a 2-step process. First you must BEHOLD the LIGHT and then you must DIRECT the LIGHT. To “behold” for the Christian is to look to God, to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit to see, observe and comprehend His will and ways through His Word, the Bible. It means we have a choice – a choice to behold or not to behold. It represents the responsibility that is our part in the Christian walk.
Leader, the biblical definition of BEHOLD is ‘To fix the eyes upon; to see with attention; to observe with care’. There are many times in the Bible where we are told to BEHOLD. John the Baptist was a ‘Rock star’ in Jesus day. There is far more written about Jesus by the Jewish Historian Josephus, than Jesus. And John spoke this infamous word; The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) John knew that HE MUST DECREASE, so Christ can INCREASE. (John 3:30) The Christmas story begins with; Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23) And the illustration of the Messiah to come was in the desert with the wandering Israelites; And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:9)
Conduit, why do we BEHOLD? Because of how God made us. God put the eyes in the front of our face because we MOVE in the direction we are LOOKING, and we LOOK in the direction we are MOVING. We have the tendency to become like the things we look at most often; WE REFLECT. A mirror gives us the opportunity to see what is right and what is wrong about something. It gives us a broader picture of what is really going on. Once we understand, what is really going on and who really matters; Jesus- then we reflect to others what we see in HIS MIRROR. We become more like the object of our gaze. A mirror allows us to see the GOOD and the BAD and then ONE can make choices about the image we REFLECT. The mirror allows us to see what needs to be corrected and allows us to put off a better reflection of who we are and what we do. In these closing days of the ‘Time of the Gentiles’, let us reflect JESUS and His attributes. When Jesus was on the cross He said 7 things, with the first being; “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Jesus Himself said, I AM the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE; in other words HE is our example- we are to BEHOLD HIM. Then, we are to REFLECT HIM, as we walk this planet. In John 10:23 when the Jews were ready to stone Jesus, He said He reflected the Father; But Jesus responded, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone Me?” If being a Christian was a crime, do you reflect enough of Jesus to be found guilty? UP UNTIL NOW…?
