But don’t just listen
to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling
yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing
at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look
like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if
you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you
for doing it. James 1:22-25 NLT
I love reading the word.
I love how it takes me places mentally I wouldn’t have gone before, and when
it challenges a thought I had, it makes me shift my momentum. I love it when I must rewrite a devotion
because when I actually read God’s word, I come up with a different
conclusion. I love the conflict and
chaos that it creates in my life, and is such a disruptive force that it
frustrates the daylight out of me. You
are probably reading this and asking yourself, “What the heck is wrong with
Kent today?!?!?” Rest assured everything
is fine. You see, a vibrant growing
Christian faith sounds like this.
However, this is only half the equation.
You see, loving the word means nothing unless I am actually
willing to apply it. The fact it expands
my mind forces me to utilize it sometimes in the exact same way I previously had
to see how different it is today. It makes me stop running one way, and now I must
crawl, walk, then run the other way. It
balances my writing like Proverbs 27:17 (As iron sharpens iron, so a friend
sharpens a friend). It makes for constant
thought and debate in my mind and heart.
However, the best thing about application of the word is when those
things come out of me, and it actually changes others. It attracts them not to me but to God. This is the application of those things I
have learned.
One can only love God’s law by using it actively. The Book of James is filled with lots of
great words that challenge our beliefs in a healthy way (ex. Faith by works is
dead – see James 2:17). In reading
today’s verses, James makes the straightforward case of applying God’s law into
our lives. I felt a personal gut punch reading
to “see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.” That is both humbling and convicting as I
must acknowledge that I am not quite the man God would want me to be. Yet, it is also motivating as I strive to be
better in my walk of faith, and with each step, God rewards me for my using
what He has instilled in me. We have all
heard the saying, “I can’t hear you because your actions speak so loud.” This is what we as Christians must always
aspire to do. Our actions will always be
a bigger indicator of our faithfulness to God.
Thus, while reading the word is paramount, it means little if we are not
able to translate into tangible change in our lives. Furthermore, it must be seen not for others
to observe but for God to bless our each and every step that shows both
submittal to His will and love for His teachings.
Jesus is the ultimate applicator. There can be no doubt of how great a teacher Jesus
is, and even those who studied the laws of the Bible acknowledged Him as
such. However, He at numerous times
chose to apply His teachings in a way that showed a clear example for us to
live a life devoted to Him. There was His
telling the people without sin to cast the first stone to the adulterer. Then Jesus Himself as the only one who could
have stoned her forgave her (John 8:3-11).
Or what about when Jesus said to His disciples, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
(John 15:13). Then He allowed Himself to be put on the cross so that we could
have eternal life. So, what are we to
take from all this? Quite simply, my
prayer is that we take Christ’s example and focus on application over
education. Amen
