Cloud Devotion: June 25 and 26
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 someone 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
“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. JOHN 9:7
Let us look together at two pictures to better understand the truth about God’s Word as a Mirror Pool in which we discover truth about God and truth about ourselves.
The first picture is of a mirror and the second of a pool of water. If you like, combine these images, and imagine a pool of water that perfectly reflects the sky above and the surroundings. God’s Word is like a mirror pool. In your spiritual life, the eye of your soul is your reason. Your conscience is like the spiritual reflection you see in the mirror. When you look at your face in a mirror, you check for any blemishes or dirt. Without a mirror you cannot see these blemishes or dirt, but must rely upon the eyes of another person. In the same way, in the spiritual life, without reading or hearing God’s Word, it is impossible for you to understand the true condition of your soul, for you are blinded by habits of sin and darkness, unable to see any corruption, blemish, or dirt upon your soul. How has the Bible been like a mirror for you?
The second picture of a pool of water follows from the first, the image of the mirror. When you look in a mirror, whether a physical one or the spiritual mirror of God’s Word, you begin to discover blemishes and dirt on your face or on your soul. At that moment and not before, you hurry to a pool or a basin of water to wash away the dirt. The pool of water for our soul is discovered among God’s people, the church. The water is the cleansing and healing work of God’s Spirit upon your soul through mutually confessing your souls to one another, and receiving Christ’s forgiveness, assurance of pardon, and healing grace. Where do you go to wash your soul?