Object Lesson

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I will listen to God’s voice and obey Him.”

Hold up the mirror. What is the purpose of a mirror? To look at ourselves. To check our appearance, our clothes, or our hair. To check to see if there is something on our face like dirt, food or toothpaste. To check for anything that might need our attention.

Now, when you look in the mirror and see something that needs to be corrected or adjusted, do you ignore it? No, you would fix, adjust or correct it.

Muss your hair a bit. Now what if I look in the mirror and see that my hair needs to be combed or brushed. Would I do this? Shrug your shoulders, put the mirror at your side and walk away.

No! I would correct it. Pick up the brush or comb and fix your hair.

The Bible compares looking into a mirror with listening to God’s Word and obeying it.

Volunteer reads James 1:22–24:

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

How foolish it would be to listen to or read God’s Word, recognize something in your life that needs to be fixed, and choose to walk away without obeying. The Bible says if we do this we are fooling or kidding ourselves. We must allow the Holy Spirit time to give us understanding and bring light to areas of our lives that are not pleasing to God. Then we need to obey and make adjustments. A mirror shows what we look like on the outside. How is His Word different? It shows us what we are like on the inside.

Volunteer reads James 1:25:

But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

When we look into God’s Word and obey instead of ignoring it, we will be set free from sin and things that hold us back from serving God completely. By doing this, God will bless us!