Daily Devotionals

Love God, Love Others: Saturday

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22

At its core, listening is a two-part process. First, listening requires actually hearing what someone has said. Simply listening, however, will only take us so far. If we only hear people without responding to what has been said, one would argue that we were not truly listening. As a result, we know that listening has a second component: responding. Sometimes this response looks like saying, “thank you,” or doing something that has been requested, or helping someone in need. Whatever the action, this response shows that the person listening was truly listening. Not only is this true in our relationships with family members, coworkers, and friends, but it is also true when we read God’s commands in Scripture. You see, listening to the commands does not just mean reading these commands but obeying them.  

James, the half-brother of Jesus and the writer of the book of James, urged followers of Christ to obey the commands in Scripture. “Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says,” he wrote (verse 22). In other words, James reminded believers that one of the purposes of reading Scripture is to call believers to action. He continued by saying, “For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like” (verses 23-24). In painting the illustration of the futility of looking in the mirror and forgetting what we look like, James showed readers that reading Scripture and responding in obedience is vital if we want to truly honor God. 

My friend, what we read in Scripture calls us to action. This is particularly true as we think about God’s call to love Him and the people around us in Scripture that we have been studying all week. We certainly know and have studied God’s call to love. The question is, will we put it into action?

Moving toward action

Let’s choose to obey God’s call to love Him and others in Scripture. Do one thing today to love someone in your life who is far from Christ. As you do this, tell them you wanted to show them God’s love, which is why you did what you did. Maybe even invite them to come to church to worship with you this weekend.  

Going Deeper

James 1:19-27 (NLT)

"Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

8 “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

9 Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

10 Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them."