Dear BPCWA worshipper, When I was young, there was a fairy tale whereby a queen would ask of a magic mirror if she was the “fairest of them all”. The mirror dutifully replied often with what she expected to hear, that it was she. One day, however, the mirror replied that the queen was not the fairest. That truth threw her into a rage, and the sinful actions that followed. I am not advocating fairy tales, much less watching movies. However, the writer behind the tale astutely pointed out something about the underlying sinful human nature – we want to hear what we want to hear and get into a fit when we hear otherwise, even if it is the truth. Even unbelievers are honest enough to point out this sinful trait of man. The question is, is that also our attitude when it comes to God’s Word? God compares His Word to a mirror in James 1:23-25, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed”.

The true mirror into your soul. This is a passage that we are probably all too familiar with and may even have memorised it. It must awaken us to face a key purpose of God’s Word. When the Word is likened to a mirror, it means that God’s Word will tell you about what you are. We use mirrors in our homes to groom ourselves so that we are not in a mess when we step out into the world. Some lifts are also lined with mirrors. When we are in a lift with strangers, mirrors make us uncomfortable when what we see is not a flattering image of ourselves. These responses are revealing of ourselves. We want to see in the mirrors a good image of ourselves. God’s Word as a mirror reveals more than our external appearances. It reveals something even more personal – our characters. It reveals the motivations of our hearts, which may be hidden from others. This is a critical effect of God’s Word. Furthermore, the following verse states that the reader forgets the manner of man he was after knowing what needs to be adjusted, and so failed to do what was needed. This obviously refers to the shortfall in man that the mirror reveals – you hear God’s Word and it points out the kind of person you are, but you quickly ignore what it reminds you of and fail to rectify in yourself the sins that God has shown you. A look into God’s Word will reveal areas in your life that you have sinned and transgressed against God in ways that others may not even know. We believe that God’s Word is perfectly inspired and preserved. If so, then we must believe that God’s Word is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2Ti 3:16). God continues to stress that this reproof, correction, and instruction is to achieve the goal “that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2Ti 3:17).

The mirror through a messenger. Thus far, we may have no strong objection to God’s Word being a mirror – during our personal devotions. But notice that verse 23 refers to the hearing of the Word! We must go further and realise also that God’s design, besides these personal moments of quiet time Bible reading, is that His Word will come through a messenger as well. This is like in mirrors that are crystal clear. We don’t like such mirrors because they make our imperfections glaringly clear. I recall a conversation early in my ministerial life where there was a discussion of direct preaching against sin being disliked. Using an idiom, someone wisely commented that instead of anger at the preacher, one’s response should be “If the hat fits, wear it”. If that preaching is faithful to God’s Word, then accept it, even if you don’t like it, because the description applies to you. Looking through a mirror requires honesty. We may not like what the truth says about ourselves. We look at mirrors so we can correct ourselves because that’s exactly what a mirror is for. Why don’t we have the same attitude when it comes to hearing the Word? Everyone has imperfections. When a mirror reveals them, it is not so that we can delight in the fact that our imperfections are not “as bad” as another’s, but that we may correct them. We don’t get angry at the mirror simply because it reveals the truth about us. The problem is not the mirror nor the messenger. The problem is in us. We don’t like the message that the mirror reveals, and the loss is ours if we get upset at the mirror or the messenger.  

My self-image vs the mirror’s message. Let us read and hear God’s Word with the right heart. Responding in anger at something we don’t like does not solve the problem. The problem still exists and remains. This was exactly the attitude of and problem for many of the Jews. They didn’t like it when God sent messengers to deliver His Word. They killed God’s prophets and the Lord Jesus Christ (1Th 2:15) because they had their own inflated idea of themselves and got angry when the Word rebuked their sins. But this is a universal problem, not limited only to Jews. It continues today, albeit in different forms, wherever God’s Word is faithfully preached. We must have a right view of and respect for God’s Word. God is absolute in truth. He does not fan our egos. He does not tiptoe around the truth or avoid revealing to us who we really are through His Word because He thinks we will be offended by it. He is kind enough not to do so. Unless we have an honest heart, we will not admit that the problem is indeed us falling short of God’s glory and standard. We must not use our own or the world’s standards as the mirror to decide on which is the right standard and level of obedience required. When we approach the mirror of God’s Word, our attitude must always and only be with a heart to know how we can attain to “the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph 4:13). As we learned in 1 Samuel, when we reject what is indeed God’s truth presented faithfully as a mirror to our souls by the preacher, the LORD says, “they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me” (1Sa 8:7). Let us be ready to approach and receive God’s Word with honesty and let the mirror reveal what He wants us to be. It is only for our own good.

Even as BPCWA celebrates our 40^th anniversary, let us always pray for God’s Word to be faithfully preached on our pulpit. Our pulpit ministry refers to the preaching of God’s Word, not the chairing of the service. The pulpit is where God’s truth must be preached faithfully. We are warned that in the last days, “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2Ti 4:3). Unless we have honest hearts which are willing and desirous to have our very innermost souls revealed and lives changed under the preaching God’s Word, we will never profit from God’s Word even if BPCWA’s pulpit remains faithful. We will only be hearers but not doers. Remember, God’s Word will speak of you truthfully as His mirror, because it is from God.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor