Doers of the Word

I have been doing a private study on the book of James. I love James; this book has often been a source of comfort and blessing over the course of my life. Recently, I began Beth Moore's study of James. A lesson this week has really been rolling around in my head and heart. The part of the lesson that really struck me is based on James 1:22 - 25: "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 a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works - this person will be blessed in what he does." The general gist is this: Sunday after Sunday, our church is packed. Yet, statistically, only a small number of those people strive to live out and apply what they have learned. Beth Moore says "the tricky part is that hearing all by itself really does lend a certain satisfaction." How many times do we leave convicted by the words we heard on Sunday? How many times do we forget about it until we are there again the next Sunday? That is forgetting what we look like. 'God's word is meant to do more than penetrate - it's meant to activate. It's not until the hearing turns into doing that believing leads to blessing.' Several times in the past couple of weeks, I have been confronted and/or told of Christian teenagers making terrible decisions. These are teenagers with Christian parents, teens that are very involved in the youth group, come to church and Sunday School week after week. These are the "good" kids. Then, after studying this lesson it dawns on me that they are simply hearers of the word and not yet doers of the word. It is an easy trap to fall into. We all start out with the best of intentions then other commitments, laziness, disobedience and sometimes just plain ole' stubbornness stop us from the doing part. Listening, for most people, is easy - the doing is hard. It requires effort, it requires sacrifice, it requires discipline. Yet, without it, we only have head knowledge - no heart knowledge. When our hearts are changed, we are forever altered. We are still going to make mistakes, we are still going to make some bad choices but I want to be constantly reminded of my true identity 'I want to be who I was created to be: a bearer of the very image of God.'