The Book of James: Listening And Doing
James 1:22-24: “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 someone who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”
I still remember that feeling of receiving my first conviction from the Lord of my sin. Weeping, sorrow, pain – for the first time, I truly knew the ugly deeds of my heart. An overwhelming feeling of regret and guilt, knowing I had shamed Jesus. Then, a wave of humility and gratitude washed over me. That is the first time I knew God was real.
It was a creeping feeling in my heart that the words on the page I read were real and a sinking realization of my hideousness. I thought, “How is this even possible that He found me? And why is it that He even wants me?” I couldn’t fathom what a true miracle it was. My heart was so far removed from anything biblical – and my unbelief for Jesus and dislike for everything He stood for made me a very unlikely candidate.
And somehow, since my first realization that Jesus in fact lived, died on the cross, and was resurrected 3-days later; it quickly became the only thing I knew to be true in my entire existence. It also made my life incredibly more difficult thereafter. Yeah, that isn’t what you wanted to hear, is it?
My main goal was now to rapidly fill my heart, ears, and eyes with all things Jesus. The convictions of all my sin came full force. I now understood that I was a murderous adulterer and lying thief. One who blasphemed the Lord with her tongue and worshipped other gods. It became of utmost importance for me to learn what God fully means through His word.
Unfortunately, I am still learning what that is today. But each day as I open my heart more to the Lord, He promises to reveal more to me. 2 Corinthians 3:16: “But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted, and they see.” The day I found Jesus wasn’t the day he immediately transformed me into a sinless being. It was the day He placed a true reflection of myself in front of me.
He is placing the conviction on me, but I must also “do” what He calls. As James 2:26 says: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Yes, it is very true that Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life – and that belief in Him alone is the key to salvation. But God has a way of changing our desires, and with His correction over our lives, we will find that sinning will no longer serve us. We are human, we cannot be perfect or sinless – we can never be Jesus, but we can be like Him.
James is single-handedly correcting the modern version of Christianity in just three pages. We cannot live full blown in our sin and follow Him. You cannot eat at the table of demons, and still eat at the Lord’s table. Sin is becoming so normal in our society, and our children are being deceived. The Lord is raising up His army to send His word near and far for all to hear.
xoxoxo
