18 Inches



James 1:22-25
22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
24For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
25But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

The old cliché says that there will be many who missed salvation by 18 inches – the distance from one’s head to one’s heart. Many people throughout the history of the church have heard the Gospel and know the stories of the Bible. But they never put their faith in the God who gave us that history. There is no faith or trust developed in them. They are hears of the Word only.

James takes on this concept in the verses of today’s reading. Apparently he has observed that there are some who indeed hear the Word of God, but for whom it makes no difference in their lives. They do not allow the Word to inform their character or impact the actions of their daily lives. The Word of God has the power to change how we think and process the world around us. Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” When given regular exposure to God Word, the way you see the world is changed. You learn how God thinks and you are able to think that way yourself in regards to the people around you and the situations of life. Now James comes along and challenges us to allow those changes in thinking to impact our behavior. When I act the way God thinks, I am openly displaying the truth of His love to the world around me. When I fail to do that, I have proven that I only hear what He said but didn’t allow it to change me at all.

We are of course going to fail at times in our efforts to live our faith out loud. Sin lurks in our hearts and minds and tries to steal those thought of faith-filled actions away from us. Jesus died for each one of those failures and grants forgiveness for them. He did this not because sometimes we succeed and live for Him. No, He died that death because of His perfect grace. We didn’t earn it, but we receive it. Just that thought alone makes me want to reach out to my neighbor!

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