“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” James 1:22-25
Does anyone else have trouble at times forgetting things? I was trying to make a list this morning of a few items I needed to pick up and I could not remember the very thing that prompted me to start a list to begin with. After a few minutes of adding other items I finally remembered that one thing that I forgot. Other times I don’t remember.
I was reflecting back a couple of weeks ago when I was on vacation and trying to remember the morning sermon that I heard. It took a minute or two but then I remembered the text and some of the context. Now I realize that is going back a few weeks and as time goes on it does become more difficult for us to remember. But do we remember the sermons that were preached just a few days ago? Do we remember the context on Sunday afternoon? Or on Monday morning?
James encourages his readers not to be hearers only but doers of the word. I encourage you to take some notes as we study God’s word in Sunday School or in the sermons so that we can all better practice being doers of the word. As our knowledge grows, so should our practice. Some days memory does fail us but let us do the little things we can do to retain the things we have heard from the word and to do them. And in the doing we will be blessed.