he who looks into the perfect law of liberty

²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1)

Since I bought my new iPod, I've downloaded sermons to listen to as I drive to and from work. I've never been one to listen to sermons when I'm not at church, and I don't even know what prompted me to do it. Regardless, I'm finding myself more focused on Christ because of it. It's something I've known all along---whatever I spend my time on is what I'm going to think about. I'm excited about the renewing of my mind.

Unfortunately, work comes along with this progression. The more I listen to God's Word being presented, the more I am faced with my faults, my sins, my bad choices. I've become convicted in many areas. And usually, if I hear a sermon on Sunday---sure, I might be convicted, but by Wednesday, I'm back to pretending it wasn't that important.

So now, I stand. I stand looking in the mirror of God's law. I know my salvation is only through Jesus Christ, but that doesn't leave me blameless in my choices. I can walk away from the mirror and forget what I saw. That would be so much simpler. My flesh wants to do just that. walk away and forget. Selfishness fights against the Spirit.

Lord, give me strength and courage to follow You.