Boots – James 1: 21

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

I wonder if James has done this himself? Did he get rid of all the moral filth and evil in him? Did he humbly accept the word that was planted? What do you think? Do you think that running into his half brother, Jesus, after he had seen Jesus crucified might have had an impact on him? I do. I think he was shaken to his boots. (I know, they didn’t have boots in those days, but who says, “Shaken to his sandals?”)

Having been thus shaken, James vows to change. I think he did, too. I think he became the kind of person his brother, Jesus, is proud of. I think he took inventory of his attitudes and feelings and decided he needed to do a little house cleaning. James thinks you and I should do the same.

So how? Where do we start?

Maybe we should turn his sentence around and start at the end. Maybe we should start by humbly accepting the word God has planted in us.

This year for Christmas my youngest son gave me an anthology of old science fiction stories as a gift. Years (and years!) ago I read lots of fiction. Science fiction was my favorite. Most of the stories in the book I remember reading as a youth. Now, nearly fifty years later and having read the Bible many times through, I am stunned by the “moral filth and evil” that is prevalent in those old stories. At the time I first read them it was all good fun. A lifetime of learning to walk with God puts them in a different light.

Accepting the word God has planted in us changes us. How fast we change depends on many factors, but change we will.

Application: Be in the Word every day. Humbly accept God’s Word and strive to live it.

Food for Thought: How does the word James says is planted in us save us?