“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”
- James 1:23-24 NIV
As I was sitting on my back porch the other day, watching my 10 year old dogs sniff around the yard ignoring the tennis ball that I had thrown, I realized that they’re getting older and slower. However, if they hear a squirrel or see a deer in the woods, you’d think they were young pups again. And as they ran around after one or the other that late afternoon, I couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head.
Because for all their quirks, those old dogs are consistent.
They do what dogs do.
Every day.
Rain or shine.
Cold or hot.
They live what they are.
And that got me thinking—dangerous, I know—about us humans.
About faith.
About the gap that sometimes opens up between what we say we believe and how we actually live.
James puts it plainly enough:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” - James 1:22
We “Christians” can talk a good talk.
We can underline verses, post inspirational quotes, attend every Bible Study within a thirty-mile radius… and yet still have hearts that are running on fumes.
Sometimes it’s not rebellion.
Sometimes it’s just drift.
A slow leak.
A quiet forgetting.
We say we believe in forgiveness, but we hold on to old hurts like prized possessions.
We say we trust God, but we grip our worries like they’re life rafts keeping us afloat.
We say we love people… until they get inconvenient.
And maybe the world isn’t turned off by Jesus at all—maybe it’s just waiting to meet people who actually live like He matters… live what they say they believe.
The good news?
Jesus isn’t in the business of scolding us into obedience.
He invites us.
He leads us.
He walks with us.
He says, “Follow Me.”
Not “Perform for Me.”
Not “Impress Me.”
Just follow.
Maybe living what we say we believe doesn’t start with trying harder.
Maybe it starts with remembering Who we are walking with.
So today, maybe we begin small:
• Speak gently when irritation rises.
• Pray before we react.
• Forgive before we feel like forgiving.
• Give thanks before we see the outcome.
• Help someone who can’t help us back.
Not because we’re trying to earn anything—but because that’s what Jesus smells like.
And if we walk close enough to Him, some of that scent ought to rub off on us.
As my dogs finally wandered back on the porch, tongues hanging and tails wagging, they plopped down beside me with that satisfied “I did what I was made to do” sigh.
Oh, that we might live like that.
Not perfect.
Not fast.
Not flashy.
Just faithful.
Doing what we are made to do.
O Lord, help us live what we say we believe. Close the gap between our proclamations and our actions. Make our life a steady testimony that points to You. Amen.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
