What Do I Look Like?

James 1:17-27 What do I look like?

One of the cool things about going to an amusement park or carnival is a visit to the "house of mirrors" or "hall of mirrors." When visitors look at themselves in these mirrors, their images are distorted! Perhaps they're very tall and skinny. Or, they might be short and wide. Some mirrors make people look like their heads are very small, but their middles are very big. But the next mirror may show one to have a huge head, and very tiny body. The apostle James, in today's epistle reading, mentions funny mirrors.

1. What do I look like? When we look in the Mirror what do we see?

• Sometimes the hair is out of whack and what do we do? “we fix it”.

• Sometime we may see piece of dirt what do we do? we wash it off.

2. Do we look like we need cleaned up?

• I remember coming home dirty mom would say, “go look at yourself in the mirror.”

• Mom and I knew I was to check myself out and see my ways of error, my dirt, my improper ness .

• When I look in the mirror I see an image of someone who needs improvement maybe that what James sees as well in the text.

3. James encourages us to not forget what manner of person we should be

• James desires us not forget the image in the mirror should reflect a person of patience in the believer vs 3

• James says , " don't forget the image in the mirror should reflect a person with stability no wavering person vs6-8

• James claims we should not forget that the image in the mirror should reflect the image of a person of endurance vs 12 happy is the man that endures

• James says do not forget the image should reflect an image of a person with swiftness to hear slowness to speak and a slowness to wrath vs 19-20

• James says , don't forget that the image should reflect an image of a person with ginormous meekness not badly behaved vs 21

• James says do not forget that the image in the mirror should reflect an image of a doer and not just a hearer vs 22

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4. James wants us to reflect the image in the mirror as a reflection of Christ

 We are to be conformed to his image Romans says, 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son

• We are to be as he is be ye holy for I am holy

5. James never wants us to whip out the old ugly stick

• As members of God's family we must be willing to ask the question, "Am I spiritually ugly?

• Am I reflecting the righteousness of Christ in the way I am thinking, acting and treating others, do I look like I've been hit with the ugly stick of sin?"

6. In conclusion

• if we look in mirror and we see we are out of whack fix it

• If we look in mirror and see dirt lets wash it off

• If we look in mirror and see the need of improvements let's improve ourselves

• James also says now don't forget what we should look like a person of patience, stability, endurance, swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, meekness, and a person that is a doer of the word.

• Never whip out the old ugly stick, let's just burn it up!