Purity of life is not a quest for perfection as much as it is a quest for liberation from those things that may inhibit effectiveness and reduce power-filled living. This text shows the Word of God as a means of reflection, a mirror into which we are to look and see ourselves. The call is not only to heed what we see and accept the Bible’s corrective instruction; there is also an unwritten lesson here: we should avoid the temptation to see (and judge) others, being careful to not analyze what they ought to do, in place of focusing on what we need to do.
Second Corinthians 3:18 also likens God’s Word to a mirror but describes the picture seen as no less than the Lord Jesus Himself. Thus, the Bible shows us Christ’s likeness in order that we may measure our conduct and character against His and allow God to shape us into Christ’s image.
Today, ask the Lord to use His Word in your life so that you will be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).
