Tonight’s sermon began with a question to which most of us could answer, “yes.” Did you look in a mirror today? Checked your hair? Makeup? Made sure your tie was straight? With the object of making sure you looked your best or the way you wanted to present yourself to the world.
Another question that Preacher Phil often asks us, “Do you feel more confident in your faith and spirituality today than you did when you first began your journey?” The first time he posed this particular question, I answered to myself that yes, I did feel more confident. Since then, I have thought about it, and I think I would answer in a different way, because there are more than one aspect to this.
Most of us, when we begin our journeys of faith, are pumped up, enthusiastic, ready to set the world on fire for Jesus. I was 13 and had been studying, hard, for maybe 6 months before I was baptized. I was all those things. Happy and excited. But I don’t think I had even an inkling of a clue as to what that journey of faith meant. In fact, at that time and place, I think I thought I’d just done everything I needed to do. I believed and I’d been baptized. The journey for me, and I suspect for most everyone, is a continuing thing. One would hope that it is a journey of increase in faith and commitment, but that’s not always the case either. I also hear people say, and hear in a lot of sermons, that we are or should be thankful for the blessings found in Christ and the lifestyle change from sin to faith. At 13, I was certainly accountable, but I cannot identify with those who’ve turned to Christ as adults and they can see a huge difference in their before and after spiritual picture.
As I’ve lived and learned, there have been periods of time that I acted like anything but a follower of Christ. I began the journey in 1962. Up until about age 18+, I lived as best I could because I had incredible examples in my family (my mom and sister), my church family (many names), and our preacher (Landon Saunders). I did not lack for encouragement or examples or motivation. I did not want to disappoint anyone. The transition from teenager to adult was a hard one for me and, at that time, just before the drug culture, I tippy-toed my feet into the edge of several waters that were not good for me……………..and certainly did not depict someone who professed to wear the name of Christ. Throughout adult life, there have been ups and downs, lots of hills and valleys in my spiritual life. As for confidence, I can honestly say I don’t think I had even that inkling of a clue until some 3 or 4 years ago.
Today, I dig deeper in the Word. I try to be very sensitive to the Christian side of an issue. This is something I always tried to do but failed more often than not in the execution of what I knew to be right. So, having said all that, yes, I’m more confident of my faith and in my prayer life today than I was when I began my journey and certainly more so than just about any point in time in my adult life. I think I’ve matured in faith but recognize I have a whole lot more to do. And I am so very grateful that my Lord and Savior has held my hand the entire time, urging me on to be the best I can be and covering my many failures with His blood.
So, back to the mirror. When I look in my spiritual mirror, what do I see? I see the handprints with nails, I see love and grace and mercy, and I see a person who is still learning. James put it this way in the first chapter of that book:
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
The perfect law of liberty. That’s what I need to look into to see my spiritual self. That’s the guide I must lay myself beside and compare to see how I look to those around me. My mirror in the bathroom will tell me what my hair and makeup looks like, and that’s important. But not nearly as important as the image I see reflected from the perfect law of liberty, the Word.
Just some thoughts of mine from my heart to yours on this Sunday night. See you tomorrow night. And may God bless.
WEEKEND SMILES:
- Having Emmy at our house Friday night. She spent Saturday with Mamaw while I was at work.
- The ice cream supper and cookout at church Friday night.
- A good day at work yesterday.
- Putting on a pair of pants tonight that fit better than they did the last time I put them on.
- Preacher Phil and his jokes.
- The beautiful early evening sky.
- Raindrops.