I never used to like documentaries. It was always people talking about what had happened. They bore me to sleep every single time, which was not a hard task. Recently though, there has been a massive change in documentaries. Now they are popular. The reason is because they have learnt to focus not just on the talking, but on the actions. They recreate the events that happened in a vivid and engaging manner, making documentaries a lot more appealing.

James tailors his message to the Christians. To us who are followers of Jesus, and he attempts to produce action rather than inaction. He doesn’t want them to just hear the message or talk about it, he wants them to act on it. There is clearly a group of people who merely enjoy listening. Sound familiar? They love the preacher, but not God. They listen to the message and then do nothing to adjust their attitude or to address their sin. That is what James condemns. Sitting at the pews but not being sent from the pews. James compares those who hear but don’t do to the one who looks at himself in the mirror and then forgets how she or he looks. Loving God is action. “If you love me, you will follow my commands.”

The disciples that Jesus chose were doers doing something. When Jesus called them, they had to leave what they were doing. Left the fish, jumped from the boat to follow Jesus. To be a follower of Jesus is to be called to do something, to be someone.

I want you to think back to the previous message you heard, or maybe yesterday’s devotional. Do you remember what it was about? Did you apply it to your life? Great if you did, but if you didn’t, now you have an opportunity. Don’t try to do everything all at once, but ask yourself based on this message: What is one thing I could do today? One action step to take to get closer to Jesus? People say the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Just focus on getting 1% better today. What is going to be your next bite?