Week 4 - Getting Practical

Read James 1:22-27

Have you ever had that moment when you look in the mirror and wish you could change everything you see? You look a little pale. Your eyes are bloodshot. Your lips are a bit too thin. And your eyebrows are a bit too thick. Is your nose too big for your face? And are your ears uneven? You’re starting to develop wrinkles. Yet you still have acne. This is not what you bargained for at all. And you can’t really fix any of it without outside help – prescriptions, surgeons, professional help. So, it’s easier to just walk away from the mirror and forget what you’ve seen. At least that’s often my reaction to being confronted with things I don’t like, but can’t easily fix.

Is our spiritual life so different? We read that it’s foolish to look into a mirror and forget what we’ve seen. And in the comfort of Bible study, as you read about the foolishness of being exposed to the Word which brings life and walking away to forget what you’ve heard, the truth of that statement is obvious. But what about when the ‘rubber meets the road,’ when you’re confronted with an opportunity to be obedient to Scripture? Just like that outside help needed to fix the physical problems we see in the mirror, we need some outside help. We need Christ. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit who lives within us as believers and who enables us to be “doers of the Word.”

As Scripture takes root in our hearts and begins to bring forth life, we can no longer be confronted with those imperfections without desiring change. We desire to be obedient, to walk in-step with our Savior. We can no longer deceive ourselves that there is nothing wrong. The Word has adequately achieved its purpose – revealing our sin and giving us an opportunity to seek that outside help (i.e. forgiveness and change) from the Lord that we so desperately need.

What does it look like to be a “doer of the Word?” A doer refuses to live in that place of self-deception – denying there is a disconnect between what a follower of Christ should be and what her life currently looks like. A doer works to bridle her tongue (oh, there’s more coming on that as we continue on with James). A doer shows mercy and love to the oppressed, to the “widows and orphans” of her sphere. A doer avoids being stained by the world – she is shaped by Scripture, not by culture.

As we walk with Christ, let us strive to not only hear the Word, but to be doers.

Questions:

*When you look in a mirror, what do you see and wish to change? What about when you look into the spiritual mirror of God’s Word?

*Can you think of other characteristics of a “doer of the Word?”

*Who are the “widows & orphans” in your sphere? What can you do practically to ease their oppression?