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

I love a good to-do list. There is nothing quite like being able to check off items, one by one, as you complete each task. I like to know the parameters and expectations in order to do whatever may be asked of me. This approach to the day, and to life, is deeply entrenched in me. Most likely, it is partially my personality type and partially a by-product of being conditioned to operate that way. Regardless, while it is beneficial in most spheres of my world, when it comes to spiritual things, it can grow a bit more complex.

At work, organization and to-do lists are great. As a mother, there was always the fine line between being flexible and being organized. As a follower of Christ, the spiritual disciplines are key, yet rule-following and to-do lists pose a threat. With such an approach to my walk with Jesus, there runs a great risk in becoming Pharisaical in nature when religion usurps relationship.

Which is where Jesus took me in my time with Him this week. As I read through the first chapter of James thoughtfully, intentionally, and slowly, God really spoke to me through the verses at the end of chapter one. “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” Now, for me, at first glance, these verses speak directly to my affinity for knowing what is expected of me. Yet, God said, let’s go a little deeper.

The Old Testament was full of rules to follow and the Law of Moses as given to the Israelites by God. But then came Jesus, and He flipped all of the rules and regulations of the day on their head and offered a new way of living. On the cross, He ripped the veil that separated man from God, and now we have full access to a relationship with Jesus. As I contemplated these concepts this week, and the instruction to not just listen to the Word but to do what it says, I recognized some unrest within me. I have been inundated with man’s interpretation of the Word for years. In churches of my childhood, the words of Jesus were manipulated, twisted, misused, and weaponized as an abuse of power.

I learned early on there were far more don’ts than do’s. Religion reigned, and relationship was never taught. Until I grew up and fell in love with Jesus. However, as I considered what it meant to do what God’s Word says to do this week, I wrestled a lot and brought some questions to Jesus. Actually, what I brought to Jesus was a request to reveal to me where man’s interpretation of His Word has replaced the truth of His Word in my life. Often when we grapple with understanding certain expectations of Scripture, our tendency is to look around us and watch how others implement and apply God’s Word. What God is teaching me is that, while there is value in accountability, we must not judge or rightly interpret His Word by basing it on the behaviors of others. To do what His Word says is to follow the way of Jesus.

Too often I have held the standard of my faith based on what I see in others when, in reality, the only one I should be modeling my practices after is Jesus Himself. Years ago, there was a major movement that most of us recognize–the What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) movement. It was catchy and gave us reason to pause and to contemplate what Jesus would do. As a girl when this was popular, it was easy to apply this to how I would respond to other people and treat others in relationships. Which really was not too far off the mark from its intent. Even Jesus said that the entire Law and Prophets could be summed up as loving Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others are ourselves. Simplistic yet revolutionary.

Our theology (the study of God and what we believe about Him) has the potential to become so very skewed when we develop it through watching others’ application of God’s Word and how others live their lives. Fundamentalists get too caught up in the rules and miss the Jesus and love of it all. On the other hand, people can become too focused on the loving side of God and miss that He is also holy and just. And here we are just trying to figure it all out and how to do it the “right” way.

To do what God’s Word says can quickly become muddled and complicated when we allow outside forces to explain it for us rather than cultivate a deep relationship with Jesus where we learn to trust His Spirit’s guidance and voice. We haven’t even hinted at what happens when people take God’s Word out of context and how that could impact what we do. As I really was working through this idea during the week, God kept bringing me back to this truth, follow the way of Jesus. Scripture tells us in 2 Peter 1 that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness. And we have the four gospels that outline for us Jesus’ life and how He lived, how He loved, how He served, how He responded, how He didn’t respond, how He was fed and fueled, how He felt, how He managed His feelings and emotions, how He confronted sin, how He walked in humility, and how He forgave, just to name a few.

I want to be like Jesus in all areas of my life. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. Jesus gave when He had nothing left to give and didn’t receive anything in return. Jesus had no home. Jesus was misunderstood, used, abused, mocked, beaten, rejected, and yet He still loved and saw to the heart of each one He encountered. He still sees the hearts of every single one of us. And He offers us a better way to live.

Jesus was God in the flesh. God kept reminding me this week that we are all created in His image–we are image-bearers. And now I bear the name of Jesus as well, so my life should be modeled after His. Follow the way of Jesus, not what man says about God or His Word. The only way to know God’s Word is to saturate ourselves in it. When we don’t understand what it is saying, let’s take our questions to Him directly. Jesus can handle our questions and our doubts. He just wants us to follow Him.

Oh that I begin to follow Jesus with reckless abandon. Others may never understand my life choices and commitment to Him. We may be mocked or ridiculed. We have grown too comfortable in our first world faith and no longer want to risk rocking the boat or being forced out of our comfort zones. May this summer be a breakthrough summer in which we become zealous for Jesus and following hard after Him. Look around–who needs a touch from Jesus? We have but one life to live–how are we going to live it?