But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 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. 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 word, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)
This set of verses makes theologians wonder if James was not trying to gently counter Paul’s assertion that all you need is faith. James felt faith was needed, certainly, but that faith will cause you to do or achieve something for God. It doesn’t make you neutral; it doesn’t put you to sleep or into a state of meditative complacency. It gives you the energy to achieve great things for God. James compares it to a person looking in a mirror and forgetting what he saw. I would compare it to a person who knows to do good and blows it off, thinking someone else will do it.
Dan and I have been married for over 47 years now and over the years we have both made it a point to keep up the little attentions we paid to each other. When he needs something, I notice it and take care of it. If I am frustrated with something, he finds a way to solve it. He saw me trying to lug heavy bags of cypress mulch to my flower bed. He found out I hated using the wheelbarrow because it always seemed to fall over for me. He considered the difficulty and went out to get me a garden cart – four wheels, easy to haul, and I wouldn’t have to strain to move mulch and such around. I didn’t ask him to do it, he just did. He puts his dirty clothes in the laundry, but I check them for buttons and tears and mend them so he doesn’t have to worry. We can each tell when the other is upset over something, even if, with me, I can’t talk about work and the many stressors dealing with other folks crises all day can cause. He can talk to me about his inventions and his work, but although I have tried I seldom understand all that engineering stuff he does. So we find other topics to help the other de-escalate from bad situations.
Now, do we do these things because there is a wedding vow saying we have to take care of the other?
No, we do it because we love each other, and, when you are in love you go out of your way to find things to make the other person happy. I make his favorite meal when I know he’s had a hard week; he makes sure my car has gas and oil and the tires at the proper pressure. I don’t have to ask him to do it, and he doesn’t have to ask me.
Compare this understanding that develops in our marriages with our relationship with our God. God loves each and every one of us and God made a lot of very odd people; some of them are hard to get along with, but He wants us to love them. He wants us to serve each other. He wants us to accept each other. I love God and He tells me to love them, so I do, and I show that love by helping them where I can so they might find their way to Him. Does that mean I have a lack of faith because some folks are simply harder to love? No, it shows I have faith to start with; if I didn’t have faith, I wouldn’t put myself out for others. Faith puts the action in love. Love, faith, and action go together. They make the Christian whole, not lopsided.