Listening to God’s word is not enough

There have been countless times when I’ve been about to head out into the day and I’ve glanced at myself in the mirror only to discover that, presentation-wise, I am a bit of a disaster. There is a blob of ketchup on my shirt, or my sweater is on inside out, or my tie is dramatically askew, or my top is displaying a visual record of everything I’ve eaten in the last 12 hours.

What do I do next, having seen the issues? I rectify them. The clothing is dabbed; the jumper reapplied more carefully; the tie straightened up; or the top changed.

This is why we use mirrors. They show us a problem, so that we can sort it out straight away. What we generally don’t do, or at least should never do, is what the character in the little parable in James chapter 1 does: nothing.

“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (James 1 v 23-24)

It is foolish to be someone who “goes away” from the mirror “and immediately forgets what he looks like”. Having realised that we look a public embarrassment, we don’t then ignore that fact. Otherwise, there really was no point in looking at the mirror in the first place.

James’ point here is not complicated. God’s word is to have the same kind of effect on us as a mirror. We are supposed to act on what it shows us right away. Like a mirror, God’s word shows us what we are really like. Elsewhere in the New Testament, God’s word is described as a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4 v 12). As we read it, it cuts back on us. It challenges, provokes and confronts us. It reads us. Whenever you read your Bible, one of the things that happens is that it shows you you.

Whenever you read your Bible, one of the things that happens is that it shows you you.

This has been the experience of millions of Christians. I know one woman who started reading the Gospel of Mark because her younger brother had recently become a Christian, and she wanted to understand what it was he was now getting himself into. It was purely an exercise in gaining some information. But it was not long before she discovered Mark’s Gospel was actually reading her. Much as she tried, she could not just keep it at arm’s length. She said she felt as though it was scrutinising and exposing her. It was laying bare her heart and her motives. She was seeing truths about herself she had never known. She began to realise what it meant to have turned from God in her life. Not long after, she became a Christian. The Bible, she discovered, was just like a mirror. And she acted on what she saw of herself.

If God’s word does not have an impact on us, we are missing the point of reading it.

This is how it is designed to be for all Christians. It is not enough to listen to God’s word. It is not enough to “get” what it says, or what a given passage might mean. A clever cross-reference may impress us, but it is not the same as obedience. We need to respond to it, to live in the light of it. To listen without responding to it is to walk out into the day ignoring the toothpaste that you just discovered is all across your face. If God’s word does not have an impact on us, we are missing the point of reading it.

This is an extract from James For You by Sam Allberry. Join the conversation and comment below. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.