Charis Corner: Stories of Grace in a Broken World
By Kari Mahara
JAMES 1:22-25
The amazing Amanda Gordley challenged a few of us to spend this summer
memorizing the book of James (New Testament; 5 chapters; written by the brother
of Jesus). I’m not very skilled when it comes to memorizing—my brain gets
overwhelmed easily with large quanities of words—but I agreed to read through
it with them and attempt to memorize verses that struck a chord in my spirit.
[If you have never read James, I highly recommend giving the small book a look
this summer.]
When I reached verses 22-25, I couldn’t move on. I needed to reread it,
ponder it, meditate on it.
“Do not merely listen to the word [this is the Bible], and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says. 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. But
whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues
in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in
what they do.”
It seems obvious at first glance—don’t just listen to the Bible; do what
it says. If you don’t, it’s like forgetting what you look like, which is
ridiculous. But then I thought deeper about that—“forgetting what you look
like.” Having just gone through my twenties, two pregnancies, and now starting
on my thirties, when I look in the mirror, my reflection doesn’t always meet my
expectations. I’m not still that young, fit twenty-something I use to be.
Oftentimes, I don’t like what I see in the mirror, but that changes the more I
accept how God sees me. As his child.
What I’ve found the most challenging is not forgetting what I look like,
but forgetting WHO I AM. It’s so hard to live a life for God in America today.
My eyes, my desires, my wants are manipulated everywhere. And for someone who
struggles with control, I quickly feel overwhelmed and dive in to fix
everything. I don’t stop and seek what God’s will is; I solve every problem
myself. I replace God with me. I set others up on altars around me, giving
their voices more merit than God’s. Last Sunday, God shook me in a big way
through Rudy’s words as well as in the song lyrics in Enough:
“All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough”
The rest of those verses in James remind us how to find ourselves again—by
“looking intently” into the Bible. And if you aren’t too sure about this, James
describes God’s word this way: “that gives freedom.”
The burdens we are forced to carry today are too much. Freedom from it all—despair,
anxiety, worry, fear, guilt, worthlessness, failure—comes from hearing God’s
truth, continuing in it and not forgetting it, and doing it. Action is
required. Your walk with God CANNOT BE ONLY A SUNDAY ACTIVITY. And God promises
us that as a result, we will be blessed in what we do.
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