Reflection

Scripture: 

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

James 1:22-25

Devotional: 

I celebrated another birthday this week. I won’t tell you how many that is, but it’s a number that causes me to reflect on my life. There are other big things going on in my life that are causing some reflection, too. Our eldest daughter is getting married next week, and our son is graduating from high school this month. Our youngest daughter even has a job now. Life changes gradually, and sometimes suddenly. As I transition from child-rearing to learning how to support and encourage my adult children, I find myself shifting some of my own priorities and goals. 

I am sitting on our deck, soaking in the sun, enjoying the breeze while no one else is home. It’s beautiful and strange. As I reflect on raising our amazing children and how my life is shifting, it reminded me of a sermon I preached at the end of last year about reflection and goals as we faced the beginning of 2026. Here is some of what I shared that feels very relevant to me right now, and I hope will bless you as well.

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How do we set our goals for our lives? Usually, it’s based on how we measure up to what we want in life. We look at our life like a mirror and evaluate what changes we think we need to make. “Where do I feel like I need a fresh start? Where am I unsatisfied?” Health, finances, and relationships tend to be pretty high on the list because of how deeply they affect the stress in our lives.

Our goals can lead us to good things - being healthier, more financially stable, having better relationships - overall, less stress in our lives. However, you have probably heard, “goals don’t work unless you do.” As a matter of fact, 23% of people who make New Year’s resolutions quit the first week in January. The second Friday in January is actually called “Quitters Day” because so few people make it past that day. 

Setting goals or making New Year’s resolutions won’t make a difference in our lives unless we actually follow through with them. “I want to,” or “I know I should” isn’t enough to get results. We have to persevere! We have to put them into practice. We have to do the work.

James, who was the half-brother of Jesus, says the same thing about the word of God in James chapter 1. Even the gospel won’t change our lives until we put it into practice. Unless we apply it to our lives, it won’t be effective for us. 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 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. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We look at ourselves in a mirror or photos an average of 8-20 times a day, with some surveys showing up to 70 times or more! But that was not the case in James’s world. People did not have photos, almost no one got portraits painted, and very few had mirrors. So it was very possible for people to see a reflection of themselves and then actually forget what they looked like! We need to be very careful that we don’t do this with the word of God. We need to do something about what we see.

According to scripture, this is the key to living a blessed life! When we “look intently” into the word of God and then put His word into practice, we experience true freedom and blessing! If we look into a mirror and see that our hair is messed up, we have food in our teeth, we are overweight, or we have a smudge on our face, but then don’t do anything about it - what good is the mirror?! We look in a mirror so we can fix what needs fixing! The mirror we need to use, however, is not our life, our accomplishments, or our goals, but the Word of God! 

This is why we need to “look intently” into the Word of God. There is something much more important than reflecting on my stage of life and evaluating my goals. That is looking intently into the Word of God and evaluating whether my life reflects the character and will of God as revealed in His word. 

Looking intently is only the first step. Rather than walking away and forgetting what I’ve just learned about myself and God, I need to put it into practice. This is what leads to blessing and flourishing in life, no matter what life stage we are in. If I want to be blessed and flourish, then I need to do more than just reflect on my life. I need to remember that “whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 

What I do in life may change depending on which chapter I am in, but the standards for living a blessed life remain the same. I must look intently into the Word of God and put it into practice (and I pray that above all else, we have taught our children to do the same).

Response: 

Action steps (if you want to be “blessed in what you do”):