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Imagine Not Seeing Yourself in The Mirror for Over 50 Years
James 1:22-25
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.
András Toma, a Hungarian WWII prisoner of war, was captured by the Soviets when he was 19 years old. Initially sent to Gulag, András eventually ended up in a psychiatric ward in Kotelnich, Russia, where he spent the next 53 years, for a total of 55 years in captivity in USSR/Russia.
Being a foreigner and not speaking Russian prevented him from proper communication, and authorities and hospital staff misinterpreted his Hungarian dialect as gibberish and yet another sign of a mental illness. The harsh conditions in the psychiatric hospital, in addition to the the isolation, contributed to his further mental deterioration.
Some story variations about his life suggest that since apparently there were no mirrors in the psychiatric ward, at least not accessible by the patients/inmates, András never saw himself in a mirror all these years.
It wasn’t until a Russian from a Hungarian descent had an encounter with András and recognized his speech as a Hungarian dialect that sparked the overdue investigation of András’ origin; the investigation, after a series of events, eventually led to his release in the year 2000. András returned to Hungary at age 75.
Imagine the last time you saw yourself in the mirror was 55 years ago, when you were 19 years of age. Now, imagine your reaction after seeing yourself in the mirror for a first time in 55 years. You are now 75 years old, and the last reflection you saw in a mirror was your younger 19-year-old self; a youthful face, spark in your eyes, no wrinkles, plenty of hair, etc.
Some stories also suggest that András stared at the man in the mirror for a long time. According to these accounts, he completely broke down in tears after seeing his reflection; the shock was just too hard to handle. It is unclear whether it is true that he never saw himself in a mirror during his captivity or whether András' account of looking in the mirror after being released has been fictionalized. Regardless, the spiritual inference that can be drawn from this story is worthy of examination.
Just as a mirror reflects our physical appearance, God’s Word reflects our spiritual image. Time may pass without reading the Bible, and when we return to it, hopefully we will see the ugliness of sin and the deviation from Holiness.
Have you ever experienced being away from the “mirror,” and when you return to it, you break down because of the sin that it exposes and the picture it portrays as a reflection of your spiritual condition? Do you see the ugliness of sin compared to the holiness of scriptures? I have, and that’s one reason why this story spoke to me in a very personal way as it made me recall how by the grace of God the words of Holy Scripture brought confession and restoration.
Returning to our main passage, the question is how can we be doers if we are not even hearers and/or readers of the Word of God. Hearing and reading is a necessary although not a sufficient condition for being spiritually alive and growing in maturity (justification and sanctification). It requires saving faith that produces “fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8) and perseverance. (Read the Parable of the Sower and its interpretation in Luke 8:4-15.) The problem is that when we are away from the “mirror,” we become dull and oblivious to the changes that are happening to us spiritually, with declining abilities to discern and detect any deviations from holiness.
A friend of mine, who is a mature believer, after reading the story and the initial draft of this reflection, made the comment that since we can’t see all parts of the body in a mirror, the back of the neck for instance, God has ordained other means of Grace and preservation of the Saints, one of them being surrounded by other believers. Here are two verses that illustrate this point:
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 | NASB
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
The importance of spending time in the Word and meditating upon its richness comes also from the beautiful reality that the Word of the Living God is more than a mirror; there are many comparisons that are made in the Bible as it relates to the Word. Here is a sample to catalog a few:
MEANS OF TESTING:
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Psalm 105:19
Until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
SPIRITUAL FOOD:
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
SPIRITUAL ARMOUR:
Ephesians 6:17
...and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
OUR GUIDE:
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
A REVELATION:
Psalms 119:130 | NABRE
The revelation of your words sheds light, gives understanding to the simple.
To summarize the main point as it relates to Christians, the spiritual analogy of András Toma’s story will have a crushing effect for believers, leading to confession, grief over sin, and eventually a gracious restoration.
Now, consider what would happen if you place a corpse in front of a mirror. The corpse will remain unaffected by the reflection, won't it? To clarify this point, we must draw a clear distinction between those who are "saved by faith through grace" (Eph 2:1-10) and those who are under God's wrath and condemnation because they are still "dead in trespasses and sin."
For those of you reading who are still not saved, please consider the following passages. My prayers is that God will quicken your spirit and graciously save you!
Ephesians 2:4-5,8-9
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 3:21-24
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 10:8-15
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Acts 2:37-38
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Galatians 3:24 WEB
So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 10 (various verses)
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
This charge I have received from my Father.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
Acts 16:31
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
Ecclesia.x Originals | All Rights Reserved © 2025
Bible Verses from Bolls Bible:
https://bolls.life/
ESV references unless other specified
AI Image by Venice AI:
https://venice.ai/
Article written using LibreOffice on Linux OS
#church #faith #Christ #Jesus #God #bible #wordofGod #humble #gospel #scripture #scriptures #biblestudy #study #salvation #grace #sermon #sermons #sermonnotes #bibleverse #life #biblestr #salvation #christianbooks #nostr #ecclesiaxoriginals #ecclesiaxarticles
James 1:22-25
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.
András Toma, a Hungarian WWII prisoner of war, was captured by the Soviets when he was 19 years old. Initially sent to Gulag, András eventually ended up in a psychiatric ward in Kotelnich, Russia, where he spent the next 53 years, for a total of 55 years in captivity in USSR/Russia.
Being a foreigner and not speaking Russian prevented him from proper communication, and authorities and hospital staff misinterpreted his Hungarian dialect as gibberish and yet another sign of a mental illness. The harsh conditions in the psychiatric hospital, in addition to the the isolation, contributed to his further mental deterioration.
Some story variations about his life suggest that since apparently there were no mirrors in the psychiatric ward, at least not accessible by the patients/inmates, András never saw himself in a mirror all these years.
It wasn’t until a Russian from a Hungarian descent had an encounter with András and recognized his speech as a Hungarian dialect that sparked the overdue investigation of András’ origin; the investigation, after a series of events, eventually led to his release in the year 2000. András returned to Hungary at age 75.
Imagine the last time you saw yourself in the mirror was 55 years ago, when you were 19 years of age. Now, imagine your reaction after seeing yourself in the mirror for a first time in 55 years. You are now 75 years old, and the last reflection you saw in a mirror was your younger 19-year-old self; a youthful face, spark in your eyes, no wrinkles, plenty of hair, etc.
Some stories also suggest that András stared at the man in the mirror for a long time. According to these accounts, he completely broke down in tears after seeing his reflection; the shock was just too hard to handle. It is unclear whether it is true that he never saw himself in a mirror during his captivity or whether András' account of looking in the mirror after being released has been fictionalized. Regardless, the spiritual inference that can be drawn from this story is worthy of examination.
Just as a mirror reflects our physical appearance, God’s Word reflects our spiritual image. Time may pass without reading the Bible, and when we return to it, hopefully we will see the ugliness of sin and the deviation from Holiness.
Have you ever experienced being away from the “mirror,” and when you return to it, you break down because of the sin that it exposes and the picture it portrays as a reflection of your spiritual condition? Do you see the ugliness of sin compared to the holiness of scriptures? I have, and that’s one reason why this story spoke to me in a very personal way as it made me recall how by the grace of God the words of Holy Scripture brought confession and restoration.
Returning to our main passage, the question is how can we be doers if we are not even hearers and/or readers of the Word of God. Hearing and reading is a necessary although not a sufficient condition for being spiritually alive and growing in maturity (justification and sanctification). It requires saving faith that produces “fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8) and perseverance. (Read the Parable of the Sower and its interpretation in Luke 8:4-15.) The problem is that when we are away from the “mirror,” we become dull and oblivious to the changes that are happening to us spiritually, with declining abilities to discern and detect any deviations from holiness.
A friend of mine, who is a mature believer, after reading the story and the initial draft of this reflection, made the comment that since we can’t see all parts of the body in a mirror, the back of the neck for instance, God has ordained other means of Grace and preservation of the Saints, one of them being surrounded by other believers. Here are two verses that illustrate this point:
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 | NASB
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
The importance of spending time in the Word and meditating upon its richness comes also from the beautiful reality that the Word of the Living God is more than a mirror; there are many comparisons that are made in the Bible as it relates to the Word. Here is a sample to catalog a few:
MEANS OF TESTING:
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Psalm 105:19
Until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him.
SPIRITUAL FOOD:
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
SPIRITUAL ARMOUR:
Ephesians 6:17
...and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
OUR GUIDE:
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
A REVELATION:
Psalms 119:130 | NABRE
The revelation of your words sheds light, gives understanding to the simple.
To summarize the main point as it relates to Christians, the spiritual analogy of András Toma’s story will have a crushing effect for believers, leading to confession, grief over sin, and eventually a gracious restoration.
Now, consider what would happen if you place a corpse in front of a mirror. The corpse will remain unaffected by the reflection, won't it? To clarify this point, we must draw a clear distinction between those who are "saved by faith through grace" (Eph 2:1-10) and those who are under God's wrath and condemnation because they are still "dead in trespasses and sin."
For those of you reading who are still not saved, please consider the following passages. My prayers is that God will quicken your spirit and graciously save you!
Ephesians 2:4-5,8-9
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Romans 3:21-24
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 10:8-15
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Acts 2:37-38
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Galatians 3:24 WEB
So that the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 10 (various verses)
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
This charge I have received from my Father.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
Acts 16:31
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
Ecclesia.x Originals | All Rights Reserved © 2025
Bible Verses from Bolls Bible:
https://bolls.life/
ESV references unless other specified
AI Image by Venice AI:
https://venice.ai/
Article written using LibreOffice on Linux OS
#church #faith #Christ #Jesus #God #bible #wordofGod #humble #gospel #scripture #scriptures #biblestudy #study #salvation #grace #sermon #sermons #sermonnotes #bibleverse #life #biblestr #salvation #christianbooks #nostr #ecclesiaxoriginals #ecclesiaxarticles