Distraction

Today I started reading through James and I've read through it before, but today I noticed something that I thought was pretty cool about the first chapter. James echoes a large portion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount not only with subject matter, but also style.

Check it out

Matthew 5:11

¹¹"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

James 1:12

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

There are a couple others too like James 1:5 and Matthew 7:7-8. Anyways the allusions and stuff are all really cool, but they serve a purpose. I really feel like the purpose is to emphasize the second half of Chapter 1. In my Bible it's titled "Hearing and Doing the Word." James references perhaps Jesus' most famous sermon for a reason. And that reason is just simply hearing and knowing what Jesus said means nothing.

James 1:23-24

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For He looks at himself and goes away and at once what forgets what he was like.

How many times have we heard a really good church sermon, been reminded of Jesus' teachings, left the service thinking about it, and then at work or school on Monday it's like we never even heard a word that was said. I know this has definitely happened to me more than once. James goes on to say that if we hear these messages and fool ourselves that we are actually being changed by them that our religion is worthless. James says in verse 27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

The first half of the chapter focuses on remaining steadfast through everything, loving God through it all, so that we may be doers and that our religion will be pure. The verse that really hit me was 27 and really it was just one word "unstained" the NIV uses "polluted" and I think I like that better. I was convicted when I read that.

It's so easy to talk about living apart from the world, but the littlest things distract us from God. Even if we aren't blatantly sinning if we aren't focused on God how are we able to love Him? It amazes me how quickly I forget about my Savior. Today I woke up with a headache and I was pretty tired throughout most of the day, and I let that prevent me from seeking after God. Francis Chan in Crazy Love talks about spiritual amnesia and how easily we forget, and it's so true. We forget which leads to us being polluted by the world.

So I guess my point in writing this is emphasizing that we are supposed to be doers of the word and that we are to remain steadfast. The gospel is supposed to transform our lives. The power of the Holy Spirit is way stronger than a headache and being a little tired yet we let the latter win. We concede. The Christian walk requires a deliberate lifestyle, and maybe that is why Jesus said the road is narrow. We are so easily distracted from the glory of God. We have to remain steadfast even through things that seem so minute, because the reality is if they are taking away from our relationship with God they are not little things.