Doers of the Word

Submitted by David Miller

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:12

Imagine a person working as a cook in a restaurant. They cook dozens of meals every day, smells the sweet aromas, knows all the ingredients. People indulge in their cooking and they know it. The cook’s hands handle the frying pan all day and when they go home their clothes smell of it. There’s only one problem with this poor cook – they do not eat any of it! Because of this, the food that the cook is around all day does not become life to them. They are dying of starvation slowly. Sadly, this is the same experience of many Christians. The bible often compares the word of God to food.

Jesus said, “the words that I give you are Spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. Were they life to Judas Iscariot? They were definitely life as Jesus spoke them, but did that life enter into Judas? It didn’t. If it did, then he wouldn’t have sold our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was like the cook – he was around food all day, but it did not become life to him and he died. 

The cook of our story is like that of many Christians. They know the word inside and out, they can quote it and even preach it! They are actively serving God. But they have not eaten the word. It hasn’t become life to them.

To the Christian, the word becomes life to you when it transforms your life in some way.  It changes your character into the image of Christ, and it draws you near to your Father in Heaven. It becomes life to you when it is applied, not just learned. The word becomes life when you do it, not just when you hear it.

Here’s a practical example: you read the verse James 1:22 (NASB) ²² But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. You spend some time meditating on it – thinking deeply about it, asking God questions.   Then it hits you! We have to live out what we believe. In our speech, in our homes, in our work, in our social media, and in our church.  Has this word become life to you yet? The answer is that you don’t know because you haven’t ‘done’ anything with it yet.  But the next day when you are commuting to work, your patience is tested as someone cuts you off and you remember James 1:22. You quickly say to the Lord, “God grant me patience so that I can honor you.”   Now the Word has become life to you.

The word becomes life to you when you put in the work to meditate on scripture, when the Holy Spirit speaks to you, and when it has transformed you. Then you know that it’s part of you. Just like when the cook eats a meal and gets energy and gains a little weight – that food has become life to them.  Seek to dwell on the word of God and gain life from it. Eat God’s word and desire to be transformed by it.  Let His word become your life.

Scripture to Claim:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.  John 10:10