James has a special way of cutting to the heart of a matter. He paints the portrait of two vastly different types of people. They have but one thing in common. They are both hearers of the Word. But this is where they differ. One hears but takes no action. He is described as a person seeing his image in the mirror one morning, needing some adjustments. Maybe there is a hair out of place or a smudge on his face. He sees that correction is needed but does nothing about it. He walks away and goes about his normal business. He takes NO ACTION on what he sees. The other man has a similar experience, with one main difference. He TAKES ACTION on what he sees.
James tells us the result of ACTION. He says, “this man will be blessed in what he does.” In the
Greek it could read, “in his doing”. God’s
Word wisely encourages us with the blessing that comes “in the doing”. There is one type of blessing when we learn
something, quite another when we put what we learn into practice.
Jesus told
his disciples something similar, “If you know these things, you are
blessed if you do them.” After
washing their feet He gives them a lesson on servant leadership. But the lesson was not enough. He exhorts them to TAKE ACTION- to do
it.
One might
interpret these passages to mean that God bestows a special blessing on those
who hear and obey His Word. I personally
think it means something slightly different.
I believe God is saying there is a unique blessing implicit in the doing
of these things. Spiritual enrichment is
imbedded in our experience as we obey His revealed will- “in the doing”.
In John
chapter 4 we have an interesting account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. As the disciples go into town to get some food,
Jesus stays behind to minister to a woman at the well. When the disciples return, we pick up the
story…
Meanwhile
the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I
have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to
one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My
food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. (John 4:31-34)
Jesus is demonstrating the satisfaction and fulfillment He felt in doing the Father’s will. Jesus TOOK ACTION and was blessed “in the doing”. The disciples found lunch; Jesus found something better.
Let’s get
practical for a moment. One morning you
are reading the book of James. You
notice the section on “the tongue” in chapter 3. You reflect on the fact that you have been saying
some things to friends or family that you regret. You ask yourself, “what am I going to do
about it?” Maybe you seek forgiveness from
someone you offended. Possibly you ask a
friend to hold you accountable. There
are many actions you can take. What is
important is that you do something!
A word about the person who is “a hearer of the word and not a doer “. I certainly understand the blessing one feels from hearing, reading, or studying the Bible. But we should never be deceived into thinking that is the sole purpose of God’s Word. His truth is not only for stimulating our imagination or answering our questions. It is for the purpose of guiding and directing our lives. How long can we sit and soak? Determine today you will TAKE ACTION on what God has revealed. Determine today to “not become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer.”
You will be blessed in the doing!
All passages in this blog were taken from [1] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation, 1995).
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