REFLECTIONS
April 4, 2010
 
 
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
James 1:2
 
 
Bible Doins
 
The interview was disappointing. I had known Steve for a long time so I hoped our time together would reveal a burning desire to use all that his education had trained him to do. It didn’t.
My questions for Steve were posed to reveal how he planned to apply his training to his job. His answers revealed only what he hoped to learn from his work, not what he wanted to contribute to it. I thought to myself, “When should we apply what we already know?” That was Denver’s question too.
Denver Moore is the former homeless man whose story is told in the book, Same Kinda Different as Me. One day he posed a question to his friend, Ron Hall.
“Mr. Ron, all these white folks be invitin’ us to their Bible studies. How come none of ‘em’s invitin’ us to their Bible doins?”[1]  Denver’s question made me wonder if too many people are like Steve, waiting until they know more before they do something.
 Denver doesn’t buy that excuse either. He cites how Jesus sent his disciples out—Peter with his bad temper, James and John who jockeyed for special seats in heaven, and Judas who would soon betray him. “Even though Jesus knowd all a’ their sin and weakness, He sent ‘em anyway.” But sometimes we forget that.
Sometimes we feel unprepared, poorly equipped, or unqualified. Sometimes we forget that God has prepared us for what He wants us to do. Denver explains it this way.
“If you is waitin’ to clean up your own life before you get out and help somebody else, you may as well take off your shoes and crawl back in bed ‘cause it ain’t never gon’ happen. Jesus don’t need help from no perfect saints. If he did, He wouldn’t a’ gone up yonder and left us down here in charge.”[2]
We can always use more knowledge. But James told us to be doers and not just listeners. We needn’t wait. And that means “Bible doins” whether we feel ready or not.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
RichardÌ
 

www.reflectingthesavior.org.


[1]Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent, What Difference Do It Make, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN 2009
[2]Ibid


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