Each year our pastor encourages us to pick a vision verse.
What is the point of choosing a vision verse? Focus, meditation. Reflection. Immersion in truth.
I want my vision verse to drag my ears away from the lies of the enemy. I want it to wage war against the desires of my weak flesh and empower me to discern God’s truth amidst all the phony baloney I’m bombarded with. I want it to provide a firm foundation to stand on rather than crumbling under the shifting sands of current societal norms. The Word is an absolute benchmark, a plumbline to measure every assumption against.
I think this verse is going to be challenging. I don’t mind.
We talked about vision verses last year and I encourage you once again to find one for yourself for 2025 if you haven’t already~ it’s never too late.
hope
I am reading the small but mighty book of James for my devotions. I read slow. I read the commentary at the bottom of the verses to gain insight and context. I look up individual words on the Bible Hub app on my phone so that I have a broader feel for the language being used. I soak in it like a long, hot shower after being outside on a cold day. Sometimes I read one verse over and over for days as I allow the Holy Spirit to reveal his wisdom. The word fills me with such hope.
I came to James 2:14-17 and it’s a master class on living the Christian life. We can assume that the readers are Jesus-followers but James is calling them out. They claim to have faith but the way they’re living doesn’t match up with their words. There’s no physical proof that their faith even exists. No fruit hangs from the tree of their lives. Their words are empty.
James gets really blunt and asks, if your actions don’t match your words, can that kind of faith even save you? If you see people who are hungry and poorly clothed but all you do is offer your thoughts and prayers without alleviating their physical needs, what good is that?
What kind of faith walks away from human suffering? What kind of faith turns a blind eye or ear to the cries of the less fortunate? What kind of faith is so self-engrossed that it doesn’t take note of opportunities to serve and bless and care for those who are struggling.
James 2:17
“So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” ESV
This is my vision verse.
How over-said and underperformed this small verse is. How far away from the heart of Jesus we drift when we can spout the word of God but refuse to do what it says. How void of power our words are without the love and compassion of Christ infused in our response to the humanity around us.
Lord help us.
The reason this verse is such a challenge is that we can’t hide behind anything. Faith is active and alive. It isn’t merely black ink on a white page. We can’t lie to ourselves about the state or strength or truth about our love for Christ because it’s always producing fruit.
The fruit always tells the truth.
just do it
Genuine faith creates works done in humility, in an attitude of servanthood like Christ modelled for us while earth. The fruit is a result of having been grafted deeply into the vine.
As we commune with Christ, his heart for the hurting becomes our heart for them. We become his hands and feet, a loving expression of the grace that was bestowed on us, undeserving as we were.
So I’m going to think on this one for 2025. And then I’m going to act in accordance with the measure of faith I have. I’m not going to compare. I’m not going to judge anyone else. I’m not going to wait until I have the right feeling.
James makes it so clear, genuine faith changes you. A changed life leads to a changed heart. A changed heart leads to changed actions. Period.
I hope you’ve chosen your own vision verse, I would love to hear about it! If not, consider meditating on this one with me this year.
Blessings to you!