The final inspiration of this spring 2018 series comes from James 1:22. We have visited 39 other scripture passages and all of them have been helpful for me to read, meditate on, study, and share. Really! All of them. However, this question has been coming back to me over the past few weeks. What good does it do to just hear the truth? Hearing is a great place to start, but it isn’t the end all, is it?
Consider this. If you want to learn how to ride a bike you can read about the how a bike is made, the physics of balance, you can study it and even pass a test. You can talk about it with others, even with experts at bike shops. You can buy a bike. You can watch professionals race and learn all of the ins and outs of adjusting the bike and fixing the bike. But let’s face it, none of this bike and balance knowledge is really going benefit your bike riding UNTIL you actually try it. When you get on and start peddling, add the steering, and the balance, THEN you can put into practice the knowledge that you’ve gained up to that point. In the process of DOING you gain a deeper understanding than you had before.
Likewise, God wants us to read and hear His word. It’s a great place to start. We need to begin to form a picture in our mind of who He is, by ingesting His truth. We can do that by opening the Bible. We can go a little deeper by joining a study group or a class that will give us more understanding with the addition of other perspectives and experiences. It’s just a smart idea to learn from someone who knows more about it than we do. You can go a step further and meditate or think about the truth that you’re hearing. Answer some questions about it. Take a test to see if you’re grasping the concept correctly. You can share the truth with other people and have conversations that will likely deepen your knowledge.
Until you put His words into practice, the knowledge isn’t really doing you any more spiritual good than reading a book about how to ride a bicycle does.
We can’t be saved without getting on our knees (literally or figuratively) and responding to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of our sin by committing our life to God, and allowing Him to convert us into a new creation.
The truth is, we will never be Jesus, He is the One and Only. Agreed? But we can put His character qualities into practice: Love, forgiveness, faithfulness, patience, truth-telling, compassion, etc. When we put into practice those things that we’ve heard and understood, that’s when they can be seen by others. Does that make sense?
In my mind it looks like a reflection.
We can only reflect Christ when we are doing what Christ did, and what He told us to do. We can’t be Him, but we can be a representation, or a reflection of Him in the world.
Think about it. As the light of Christ is allowed to be seen in our life, we reflect Him to the world. When we are just listening, and soaking in the light, but not doing anything with it, it’s like an overcast day when there will be no reflection at all.
I want to encourage you to put the truth of God’s word into practice. Let’s let the light shine and reflect Jesus to the world, doing what He has said and thus being a reflection of His likeness for all to see.
