Today’s
scripture:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22 NKJV)
Well, we made it through all of the Ten Commandments and showing
how they are full of giving and receiving mercy. This is what James has to say
about the rest of this passage above…
“But he who looks into the perfect law of
liberty and continues in it,
and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed
in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does
not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled
religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in
their trouble, and to keep
oneself unspotted from the world.”
Is
this a perfect work? No. But, God sees our hearts and He knows the end. He
treats us as if we were perfect because of our willing heart. Sanctification is
a process. Look at how the Lord worked it out for Peter in John 21:15-19. After
Peter denied Jesus three times before the cross, Jesus came back to Peter and
redeemed him. As Jesus was asking those redeeming questions of “do you love
Me”, He was reminding Peter of what Jesus was calling him to do. He was calling
Peter to do mercy by feeding His sheep.
If
you do a word study on “love” in this passage, you will find the first two
times Jesus asked Peter “do you love Me”, He really uses the word “agape”
meaning unconditional love. But Peter’s answers to those two questions was “You
know that I love you”, but peter used the word love as “phileo” meaning love as
a friend. The third time Jesus asked, He used the word “phileo”. As if to say,
“that’s ok Peter, I’ll meet you where you are at.” But Peter was grieved in his
heart and said “You know all things; You know that I love [phileo] You.” He was
grieved because God showed him what his heart was really like. That he really
couldn’t love Him the way he thought he could back at the last supper being so
sure of himself. That love would be unconditional of Peter’s circumstances. But
God wanted to use him anyway to teach him how to love with agape love.
Agape love is no matter what circumstance your facing, you will
obey and honor God with your action of love (mercy). Then Jesus tells him in verse 18
that Peter will die for Him. He will establish in Peter that
unconditional love that Peter was so sure that he had for God.
Reflection:
Just a
few chapters before this question to Peter, Jesus says if we truly love God,
then we will do mercy. We will keep His commands which is doing mercy! (John
14:15) The entire Psalm 119 is about obeying and keeping God’s commandments.
Not just obeying them but a desire to obey them because of the great reverence
for the one who created us!
Challenge:
Ask
God to search your heart and to reveal wither you have agape love or phileo
love for him as well as for those in need. But, I warn you to not take this
prayer lightly because the answer to this prayer can be quite a challenge.
-Doug McGowan
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