When the Word reaches daily life

Receive with meekness

James speaks to believers about receiving the implanted word with meekness. His instruction sits among plain matters: listening, speaking, anger and the removal of wickedness. The readiness to receive truth has consequences for a person’s conduct.

It is possible to approach Scripture looking mainly for a sentence to give to somebody else. The passage asks the reader to become teachable. Before deciding who needs to hear it, consider what it says to the person reading.

Remember what was seen

James compares the hearer who does nothing to someone who sees their face in a mirror and then forgets it. The problem is the break between seeing and responding. Recognition was present for a moment, but it did not continue into action.

A practical response may be simple: confessing a wrong, changing a habit, speaking truthfully or making good on a responsibility. The passage should determine the response. Avoid attaching a dramatic instruction that the text does not give.

Continue in it

The faithful hearer looks into the word and continues. This gives reading a place beyond the time spent with the page open. Return to what was understood and ask whether it is being practised.

James closes this part of the letter with the tongue, care for the vulnerable and a life kept from the world’s corruption. These are close and ordinary matters. They help test whether the truth being received is finding expression in life. Ask God for help with one clear response and carry it into the day.