REFLECTION VS REFRACTION

Who loves admiring themselves in the mirror? I think the common term for this is ‘posing’ with a capital P…. Are there any self-confessing posers reading? Come on, you can unashamedly come out of the closet. Your time is up. Come clean. It’s ok, you will be accepted, not judged - oh to be free!
Have you ever met someone who constantly looks at a mirror? It’s like they are a ‘mirror addict’!  They have a driving compulsion to look in the mirror, checking out their hair, eyes, nose, teeth or whatever. Every chance they get throughout the day, they take a quick peep before the onset of ‘cold turkey’. 

Seriously though, one of the many functions of a mirror is that it does not lie, it actually reflects and represents a perfect image. In contrast, one of the definitions of the word prism is this:  ‘A medium that misrepresents whatever is seen through it’ Instead of reflecting light a prism actually refracts light, creating an aberration, abnormality or a distortion of an image. In other words, what we see through a prism is not a true representation of the viewed image.

With this thought in mind, is it possible that we can approach the Bible (God’s guide book to life) as a prism rather than a mirror?  Can we possibly be guilty of refracting, or misrepresenting, the light of the Bible?
James says, 'Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it 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.'  James 1:22-24

If we just listen to the Word of God in isolation, then we are 'guilty as charged' of deceiving ourselves. However, taking responsibility to Listen and to Act, are two key notes that will bring a perfect pitch to our lives. God is very clear that we must outwork His Word into our lives, and process it through our lives, in order to benefit ourselves & others. Through this process the Bible becomes a living word, helping us to make sense of God and experience his power through practical living.
So is the Bible is a mirror or a prism? I’m sure you will agree it is a perfect reflection of humanity, complete with all its idiosyncrasies.  The challenge is to listen & act on God’s Word, so that we are not deceived. As we demonstrate this amazing principle then we possess the opportunity to change and influence a world for God and for good

Tony Harrington