Read: James 1:19-27
The one who looks into the perfect law . . . and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (v. 25)
Sadly, we can all probably think of people who call themselves Christians yet don’t seem to act like it. Maybe it’s a well-known church leader who has committed some kind of moral failing, or a politician who seems to care more about connecting with faithful donors than being faithful themselves. But the truth is that all of us are hypocrites at one time or another. It’s easy to say we want to be like Jesus. It’s another thing to act like it.
James is speaking to all of us when he says, “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (v. 22). He says someone who reads the Bible and then fails to do what it says is like a man who looks in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he looks like (vv. 23-24). By contrast, James asks us to look intently into the Scriptures and then act on what we see there (v. 25). And he gives us an idea of where to start: by caring for those in need (see v. 27).
How often do your devotional times lead you to change what you do during the rest of the day? Do you spend a few moments looking at the Bible, and then walk away and forget what you read? Or do you actively try to work out what you see in real time? You can start today.
As you pray, ask God to show you how to act on what you read.
Sarah Sanderson is the author of The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate. She lives with her husband and their four teenage children in Oregon.
