When I was in elementary school, I learned FRENCH.
When I was in middle school, I learned LATIN.
When I was in high school, I learned GERMAN.
When I was in college, I learned SPANISH.
So here’s the question for you…
HOW MANY LANGUAGES DO I NOW SPEAK?
The Answer: Just ENGLISH!
Humorous as this may seem to you, there’s actually an important spiritual principle here. Although I “learned” four languages along the way, none of that learning is doing me any good these days. Why? It’s quite simple:
We only truly learn things we REGULARLY PUT INTO PRACTICE!
No doubt, I would be able to fluently speak French, Latin, German, or Spanish today if I had been immersed in a culture where I regularly utilized those skills. But the sad reality about any kind of learning is this:
If we don’t USE it, we LOSE it!
Consider how this applies to your spiritual life. If you’re a Christian, you’ve no doubt “learned” some things about prayer, relationships, godly character, and countless other teachings in the Bible. However, as you review your life today, is it possible you need a refresher course in those things?
You see, we don’t truly learn things in the Christian life unless we’re committed to consistently DOING what the Bible teaches. Many of us have heard countless sermons and Christian podcasts, yet all that information is of no value if we’ve not put those principles into ACTION.
This troubling phenomenon is aptly described in James 1:22-25:
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 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. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
If you’re feeling dissatisfied—or even disillusioned—about your Christian life today, this might be the reason! So I encourage you to take an honest inventory: Are you regularly putting the precepts of God’s Word into action? If not, James says you’re just deceiving yourself. If so, the Lord promises that you’ll be blessed.
Like learning a foreign language, a fruitful Christian life requires application and consistency. It starts with being born again, but growth happens when we follow through and take the next steps: becoming immersed in God’s Word and His Spirit.
