But be 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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. (James 1:22-24 ESV)
What does it mean to be a doer of the Word of God? To “do” something implies action. We are encouraged to do good as believers. We can read our Bibles, but our witness is inadequate if our actions don't reflect what we read.
Doers of the Word are the opposite of Sunday morning Christians who go to church, sit and listen to a message, and then view it as merely an interesting spiritual discourse. Jesus said that only doers of the Word are truly blessed.
Today's verses stress the need to act on what we hear. We are fooling ourselves if we think we can be hearers only and not doers of the Word as well. People who sincerely love God are those who keep His commands. God desires those who hear His Word to become authentic followers of Jesus, disciples who obey the Lord’s teaching because they know and love their heavenly Father.
The command to be doers of the Word can be illustrated using a mirror. An apathetic listener of the Word is someone who looks carefully at himself in a mirror, but then walks away and forgets. He disregards what he saw, letting it drop from his mind. The Word may enter the person’s ear, but the power of it does not penetrate his heart. Our goal should be to look into the mirror and see the reflection of Christ in us.
“The only Jesus that unbelievers ever see on this earth is the one reflected in those who already know Him. By mirroring Christ, we should be ready to turn any conversation or meeting with an unbeliever into a divine encounter.” - David Jeremiah