Minor Adjustments

 

When we are consciously making major changes to our appearance – dressing or arranging hair or makeup – we usually look in a mirror. We consider the reflection deliberately and adjust according to our plans or expectations. And we are pleased or not pleased according to what we think we are seeing or showing.

 Sometimes we see ourselves accidentally or unexpectedly when we pass a window or other reflecting surface. At that point, we often get a surprise because we are not looking for what we see. Maybe you are startled, as I am, with the unexpected reaction, “Mom!” She’s been gone many years, but there she is, in my reflection.

 More often, we see just a minor annoyance like a wisp of hair out of place or a garment a bit askew. Maybe our posture or facial expression needs an uplift. At that point, we make the minor adjustment to correct something we perceive as not right. But we almost always react in some way to the reflection. We want to look our best, or at least appropriate for the given situation.

 In the same way, we should be making adjustments every time we read Scripture. We may not see our own reflection there; it may be a reflection of God or of a faithful believer’s attitude or of an evil person’s actions or of an illustration of God’s expectations or -- well, there are a great many kinds of things Scripture shows us. Sometimes we may get a surprise because we are not looking for what we see. Each reflection should reach us in some way. Do we praise God more for what we read? Are we humbled? Do we rejoice? Do we sorrow? Do we change our thoughts or behavior? Are we reminded of something we had forgotten? We may need to make a huge change or we may just need to make a tiny adjustment every time we come in contact with God’s Word. At the very least, we should feel the joy that comes from the privilege of hearing from God once more.

 The apostle James, in the beginning of his letter, compares the self-centered “look” to the life-changing “look.” “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” James thinks we should react in some real way to the Word, with major or minor adjustments as needed. And he adds that the “doing” will be blessed. What will you do the next time you look into a mirror? What will you do the next time you read Scripture?

 --Lynda Shenefield