I once knew a man who used to brag about his Harley. It was a very beautiful bike, and when I would visit him, I would see it there, parked in his garage.
When I started riding he confessed something to me. He told me that he never rode it.
Never.
It seems he got on it one time and it scared him. After that, this beautiful bike sat in his garage under a tarp. Years later I heard he sold it.
Unseen, unused for over ten years. Do you think that bike lost any of its value?
Those of us who ride can't imagine the thought of this!
Those of us who ride can't imagine the thought of this!
Now here is the question, is this man a biker? Is he a motorcyclist?
No, he is not. It is not enough to have the bike, it's not enough to be proud enough about owning it to brag to others. You have to throw a leg over it and ride. That is what a motorcycle is meant for. That is its purpose.
Reading James today,
"Do not merely listen to the word, 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." James 1:22-25 (NIV)
Like that motorcycle, it's not enough for us to say we are Christians and own a Bible. We must practice our faith, we must be doers of the word.
Being doers of the word, not just hearers brings true freedom! That is how we find our purpose in life, that is how we live a life wide awake, and fully alive.
