There are parts of James that have stumped me... not really quite understanding what he was saying... for instance...
...if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror.
For he looks at himself, goes away,
and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
James 1:23-25
HCSB
(my emphasis)
Cryptic... how can you really forget what you've looked at... immediately...? An odd example... or so I thought a few weeks ago...
But unfortunately... I've seen this Word made flesh... in a loved one...
Painful to watch... wrenches the heart... watching one live a forgetful life...
Either forgetting the sin revealed... the grime... the dirt... not recognizing the urgency of the situation... the need to clean up...
Or... forgetting who he is in Christ... able to stand against temptation... holy... strengthened...
But... I also have to admit... after seeing this Word in another... at times... I am guilty of the same... forgetting... what I've seen... who I am...
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works --- this person will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:25
HCSB
Lord, I pray for the forgetful... my loved one... me...
teach us to look intently into Your Law...
the one that gives freedom... enable us to persevere...
soften hearts to receive conviction... By Your grace...
transform the forgetful hearers... into blessed doers...
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