James 1:22

New American Standard Version

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Pastor’s Paraphrase

          Don’t you see – if we merely hear the truth of God as it is taught to us without putting it into practice, we are fooling ourselves concerning what the Christian life is really all about! Our actions are to match up perfectly with what we have been taught!

 “How does this help me become more like Him?”

          This is the time of year that football teams are holding extended practices and scrimmages in preparation for the beginning of the season.  Coaches are spending countless hours trying to teach their players the structure and function of their offensive and defensive systems.  From Junior High School to the NFL, each team has a system they are trying to teach and execute.  Some systems and some coaches are better than others but in each case these coaches have specific assignments for each player that must be carried out in order for their team to be successful.

          This paradigm applies not only to athletic teams but almost any other cooperative effort as well – businesses, government, charitable and social organizations, and a host of other joint enterprises involving a group of individuals.  Their common goal is to win games, make money, or even to help other people in need – none of which are wrong.  In every case, the individuals involved must learn their role and carry it out as they have been taught for their team or organization to be successful.

          The same thing is true in the body of Christ – in order for us to be the church all over the world, we must put into practice what we have been taught.  Only then will we accomplish something far more significant than athletic or financial success or even social assistance – the spreading of the eternity changing story of God’s grace through Christ Jesus.

          However, the problem we often encounter is the same problem that causes athletic teams to have losing seasons or businesses to go bankrupt – we fail to execute what we have been taught.  To take the athletic analogy a step further, it has often been said that our times of worship and Bible Study are just the huddle and then we must go out onto the playing field of our daily lives and execute the plays.  A team may huddle so long that they are penalized for delaying the game but if they don’t execute the plays called, they will fail miserably.

          Most often, our failures to live more like Him are not caused because we have not been well taught but because we fail to execute what we know we are to do.  The great difference is that the Christian life is not a game.  Far more important than any team’s won-lost record are the eternal souls of those around us that will never come to faith in Christ if they do not see with their own eyes a flesh and blood incarnation of what a Christian is supposed to be.  For us to know but not live the principles of Scripture in our lives is to make the old saying, “You may be the only Bible some people ever read” painfully convicting.

          To live more like Him is not just to make our lives more joyful or even to deepen our walk with Him – there are lives and souls at stake for us to carry out what we have been taught.  It is a heavy responsibility but we are not alone in living up to it.  The same Holy Spirit who instructs us in the meaning of Scriptural truth is the One who will give us all the strength we need to live it out.  We have but to yield our mind, heart, and will to His control.

“How should I pray for Him to change my life?”

Pray that He would give you all the understanding as well as all the spiritual strength that you need to live out what you are taught in His Word.  Thank Him that you do not have to live the Christian life in your own strength.  Ask Him to make you aware today of your privilege and responsibility to let Jesus be seen by others in your life.

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