John McKay, a retired football coach, is quoted as having said, “I am a big believer in the ‘mirror test.’ All that matters is if you can look in the mirror and honestly tell the person you see there that you’ve done your best.’
What kind of things can we say to the face we see when we look in a mirror? What kind of person do we see when we look there? Can we honestly tell the person we see that we’ve done our very best to serve our God? So many people think that good enough is good enough. We might just as well be honest with the face we see in the mirror because we really do not have any secrets from the one we see there. We will have no secrets when we stand at the judgment seat before our Lord who can see through us and knows everything we ever did or thought. What can we say about our service when looking ourselves in the eye as we will look our Lord in the eye? They say that the only way folks can truly look themselves in their own eye is by the use of a mirror.
Do we remember whose we are and whom we serve? James tells us that those who forget that they are made in the image of God are likely to forget to obey His word. James says, “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.’
We live in a world and an age when most people try to do just good enough to get by. It affects their work, their responsibilities, their marriages, and certainly their serving of the Lord. In the world of sports, mediocrity does not produce winners. The coaches of the most successful teams are those most able to motivate their athletes to do their very best, which is often the difference between winning and losing. The athletes who are most successful are those who dedicate themselves to training, and who practice wholeheartedly with intensity every day. Is it less so in our life serving our Lord? Just as we cannot fool ourselves when we look in the mirror, the Lord also knows everything about us and knows if we are giving our all or holding back some.
The importance of honesty and doing our best is not new. Ananias and Sapphira learned that they could not fool God by pretending to give all their income to the service of the gospel while secretly holding back a part. When Jesus went about preaching the good news of his coming kingdom, he made it clear that not everyone would put enough effort into serving God. Luke tells us that “some one said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’ ‘
Jesus makes a distinction between seeking and striving. Nearly everyone wants to be saved — just ask them. But what are they actually doing in order to receive the Lord’s blessing of salvation when he comes?
Jesus went on to say to the one who asked him the question, “When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out.”
When we look into the mirror, let us ask the face we see there this question, “Which side of the door will you be on when the Lord comes?”
If we do not like the answer we honestly give the face in the mirror there is still time now to change, but there is a time when it will be too late to change it.
Let us strive to enter the kingdom. This goal means giving our all, 100% of our life to the Lord. Nothing less will be acceptable to him.
Look into your mirror and tell the face you see that you want to be in the Kingdom of God more than anything else in all the world. The face you see will hear it. When you go away from the mirror, remember what you said, and then do it with all your might.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One