Do the Book - Martin Wiles

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

When a four-year-old teaches you something you don’t know, you listen.

At evening, just before bedtime, is when my daughter and my oldest grandson have some of their most meaningful conversations. Such as the recent one about book parts.

“Who wrote this book?” he asked

My daughter gave him the author’s name, but he said that wasn’t right. “Well who then,” she asked.

“The author.”

Opening the book to the first page, he asked what page this was. She said, “The front page.”

“No, the title page.”

“And what about this part,” pointing to the edge where the book title is printed.

“The edge?” my daughter questioned.

“No, the spine.”

Funny, I don’t remember knowing the parts of a book when I was four years old. In fact, I’m not sure I learned those things until I was in middle school. Of course, I didn’t know a lot of things children seem to be born knowing how to do now.

But knowing the parts of the book isn’t the most important part. If my grandson didn’t know what was inside the book, he was missing out. According to James, the same is true when it comes to the Bible. Knowing where the title page is, who the authors are, where the books are, where the concordance is, and where the spine is will do me little good if I’m not familiar with the information therein. I have to do the book, not just know the book.

Dad made sure I did. He read the Bible to me before I could read and taught me the importance of reading it myself after I learned to read. He also taught me the necessity of learning God’s command and principles and then obeying them. Though there have been periodic times when I did a little disobeying on purpose, for the most part, I’ve been a doer of the Word.

Knowing what God’s Word says does little good if I don’t put the teachings into action. Jesus says loving Him equals obeying Him. The Word shapes my life into the form God wants it to be. It leads me to the most exciting life I could possibly live as well as gives me strength for the trials and armor for the temptations.

Don’t just know the book; do the book.

Tweetable: Have you read the most important book?

Prayer: Father, give us the courage to be doers of Your Word, not just hearers. 

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