The other day was my 20-year high school reunion. I obviously didn’t go, but thankfully because of Facebook, I was able to see some friends share their experiences, and I was if I was able to attend. However, there was something that shocked me, and all my friends were… old. I could see the same faces from 20 years earlier, but they had changed, weathered by life and experiences. This seems logical; it has been two decades since we’ve seen each other, but the more shocking thing is that they had aged while I am still an 18-year-old kid. Now we all know the ridiculousness of this statement; of course, I have aged. Mentally I don’t feel I am any older than my mid-twenties, but the reality is that I am pushing 40. The point that James addresses in his epistle as he writes about our perception.
James 1:22-27 –
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for [once] he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the [law] of freedom, and has continued [in it,] not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his [own] heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of [our] God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, [and] to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
We might think we are young, but a simple glance in the mirror will confirm or deny that reality. In the same way, we can’t say we are doers of the word if our actions don’t reflect it. We can intently study God’s word, and if we never put it into practice, what good is it? I could research and devote myself to the intricacies of Greek and Hebrew languages, but if I never start living out the message in this book, what is the purpose?
So, let’s not fool ourselves anymore; I am not 18 years old, and if we are claiming to worship God, let us do it with word and deed. Let’s not just say we are Christians; let us do the things we claim to be our purpose. It is easy to say we are Christ-followers, but putting these principles into action is far more challenging. So let us hold up a mirror and reflect on who we really are.