On Maps

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For 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 1:22-25

I have always had a fascination with maps.  I used to draw my own when I was a kid.  The child in all of us probably likes treasure maps with 'X marks the spot'.  GPS is really nice, but it does not hold the same mystery as a map.  And that's the thing about a map, it shows you the way but it's not the same as going there.  You can imagine the adventures you might have traveling the trail marked out with strange place names.  Even on the maps I have of this settled and civilized and fenced in country, there are road-less gaps and spaces, where, if you are going to go, you won't be riding in a Cadillac.      

 

It is impossible to reduce the truth to words.  We can speak the truth, but it always exceeds our ability to fully express it.  We are always reduced to metaphors and comparisons.  The truth is ineffable.  Knowing this, that reality is always going to evade capture and confinement in our language and equations, are doctrines and dogmas of any use to us?  How is that we can know the truth if we cannot communicate it?

As we’ve noted before, George MacDonald quoted one particular verse several times in his fictional works:  So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority (John 7:16-17).  

The only way to know the truth is to act upon the truth, obey the Word, and put into practice what we see is right.  Only when we operate in accordance with and obedience to whatever revelation we have will more be given to us.   It is only in doing God’s will and desiring to do His will that we have understanding.  We can know and recite all the doctrines of the Church, but this form of knowledge leads only to guilt and condemnation or spiritual pride and self-righteousness.  We must live the truth. 

Since we are frail in our flesh, it is often the case that darkness overtakes us on the road.  Clouds may obscure the sun, and we find that we have missed our way.  We don't need to wander about lost and ask other lost people for directions because we do have guidance readily available.  Scripture and our creeds and our dogmas are the maps and the compasses and the sign posts that will put us back on the right track and help us hold a true course.  As much as we value, adhere to, and trust in these helps, we are not foolish enough to confuse our compass with the pole to which it points. 

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’  And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.  And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”  (Matthew 21:28-31)

Reflections on Reflections

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. – James 1:22-24

Many years ago Mack Davis sang about how hard it is to be humble when one is “perfect in every way”. The subject of the song asserted that he could not wait to look in the mirror because he got better looking each day. For many of us, holding in our minds an image of what we look like in the mirror, especially first thing in the morning, is probably not a good idea. The looking glass on the bathroom wall is not a true reflection of who I am. (Thank God!) One obstacle is that the reflection is two dimensional. I have learned, over the years, how to interpret the flat image so I can see the depth, but I can be fooled, just as we are often fooled by movie model-makers and their sets. But the mirror image is deceptive in more important ways. The mirror shows only the outside, which is getting a little time-worn, as I mentioned yesterday. In fact, I’m glad I didn’t have to pay a security deposit on this body because I don’t think I’d be getting it back.

If I want to see a true reflection of who I am I need to forget the mirror and go to the Bible. Often we talk as if the Scripture presents an ideal, a very lofty perfection which we should strive toward but never expect to really achieve “in this life”. I suppose that is true, in a way, but it is misleading. Instead, as we study the Word we see ourselves as we are in reality, or, Reality. We are not being saved; we are saved – we just haven’t fully realized it yet. We know that Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Colossians 3:1), and, if we are in Him, we are right there as well.

I am not what the mind parasites or the devil says I am. I am not what the world says I am. I am not even what my reflection in the mirror, my friends, my family, or my spouse says I am.

I am what the word of God says I am. And the best reflection of who I am can be seen in the Gospels – not in Peter, not in John or Andrew, Philip, or even Judas, but in Jesus. The Lord came and said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Whose life? Not God’s, but man’s. Though He was God before, during and after the Incarnation, He became a man, referring to Himself most often as the Son of Man. Jesus reveals to us the truth about ourselves. He shows us humanity’s true way of life. Jesus says that for us to live as He lived is to be true to ourselves.

We have, as James points out, forgotten what we are. The world is full of distractions to keep us from remembering. Some would have us believe we are mere animals, or even less than animals. Some will tell us we are slaves. Our addictions and our habits whisper lies to us day and night. Intense emotions and passions course through us reinforcing illusions – both fantastically fair and frightfully foul. If we want to stay in bondage to the material world, we’ll get plenty of help.

But if, one day, we wake up and decide that freedom is better than slavery, that reality is preferable to illusion, there is a Way home: Live the Life of Jesus.

Do what Jesus did.

Not in some maudlin, sappy, melodramatic, in-His-steps-WWJD attempt to “please God” or “do the right thing” or “help others”. That is stupid socialist religious bullshit.

Do it because that is by God who you are. Do it so you won’t forget who you are.

But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts – this person will be blessed in what he does (James 1:25).