By David ReayWednesday 7 Mar 2018LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
Read James 1:22-25
22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. (THE MESSAGE)
Back in 1912 a man sat in a tiny office on board an ocean liner in the Atlantic Ocean. He was taking down messages received from other ships about the presence of icebergs in that area. He passed the messages on to his superiors. They took no action. As a result, the unsinkable Titanic sunk as it struck one such iceberg.
The ship sunk not because it lacked information about the danger, but because the information was not acted on or applied. Those in command knew enough to save the ship and its passengers. They were not saved because they didn’t do anything with the information they had.
We can know a lot about the Bible and yet be a stranger to the God of the Bible. We can know about our need for mercy and grace and yet not reach out and take hold of it when offered. We may know enough in a certain life situation to choose rightly but instead choose wrongly. Knowing is one thing, doing is another.
Our text reminds us that merely reading the Bible won’t make much difference unless we seek to apply what we read. Reading is not enough: we need reflection and prayer along with it. Having our heads stuffed with Bible verses won’t do us much good unless we do something about what we read and know. Lack of knowledge can be a problem, but for many of us, lack of will is the greater problem.
Blessings
David Reay