Freedom To Obey Gods Word

James 1:22-27
" Do not merely listen to the word and deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues to do this is not forgetting what he had heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does.  If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

     With another 4th of July slowly fading into memory, I'm sure you have heard a lot of talk about "freedom", whether it be the freedom our founding fathers set out to provide us, the freedom our veterans have fought to defend, or even the freedom some may feel we are slowly losing piece by piece to a ever more invasive government.

     I want to focus on the freedom that each of us has been granted as Christians. Often, we hear people say (or have possibly said ourselves at one time or another) - "God has given me the freedom to choose; He gave us free will."  I fear that some of us have been looking at that "freedom" all wrong...I know at times I have. Throughout history men have abused that freedom by violating Christ commands, rather than seeking and using that freedom and power to obey them.  Without Christ we could never live up to Gods standards, but through our faith in him we receive not only his  mercy and forgiveness, but also the desire and power and freedom to OBEY him!

     In this particular passage, James is teaching us that we can be involved in all kinds of church activities and  ministries and be able to speak a lot of wonderful scripture, but if we do not put that into practice, all of our activities and knowledge are meaningless.   We are all familiar with the old saying "practice makes perfect", and that principle is never more proven than in our relationship with the word of God. If we do not choose to act on or use what we know about Gods word we will not retain it and it will not become a part of who we are.
 
     In verse 27, James is showing us principles of what defines Gods word -
        1) Christians must show genuine love and active compassion for those in 
         need. Today, when we  notice people in need of practical assistance, we
         should do what we can to alleviate their distress and show them that God
         care for them. 
        2) James is saying that love for others must be accompanied by a love for
         God expressed through holiness or it is not true Christian love
 
     Spend some time alone with God and ask yourself if there is any area of your life that is holding you back from everything He has for you. Really examine yourself to see what may be hiding under the surface, or if there have been small moral compromises that could lead to bigger spiritual missteps.  Finally, take a look and determine who you are serving, befriending, helping, or demonstrating God's love for - and make certain the fruit displayed before them is born of the time spent with your Father.