Blessed Are the Doers

“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the  word of God and obey it.’ ” (Luke 11:28  (NIV)

The crowds that followed Jesus were awed by His teachings as He told them things they had never heard before from their religious leaders. I know the feeling of getting a different perspective from  a gifted speaker. It’s easy to become emotionally stirred. One woman in the crowd listening to Jesus speak got so carried  away that she yelled out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you!”  (verse 27).

In this  left-handed compliment,  the woman was saying how wonderful Jesus was by praising His mother.  Jesus took the  compliment and used it as a teaching tool, letting that woman and all the others in the crowd understand  that spiritual  relationships, not merely familial ones, were what mattered.  Getting excited about what you hear is just the first step, Christ was saying. Now go and do what I have told you.

In Jesus’ answer to the woman, He was addressing His listeners’  mindless hearing of His words without  putting into practice the  teaching that would  increase their faith in Him and prepare them for eternal life.  Today  a charismatic preacher can  stir a crowd in his megachurch, people packing the venue to listen and be thrilled to the point of  shouting and clapping. We in our smaller churches also gather to hear words that move us,  but which may elicit  only muted amens.  Both groups of worshipers, however,  often listen to the words of an inspiring preacher and are impressed, yet fail to let the words of truth work their way into daily obedience to God.

Jesus is known as the Great Teacher,  and those of us who  follow the profession find it a highly rewarding  one. When a student  grabs hold  of  what is presented in the classroom and applies it visibly,   we are thrilled.  Once when my class and I  had an ejoyable time studying  parody as a literary form, I was delighted  when one of my best students later brought to class a newspaper clipping of an article that parodied one of the works of a famous American poet.  That youngster followed through, applying what she had learned.

Both Jesus and the woman in His audience  used the  word “blessed” but with different meanings. For the  woman, the blessing was real but limited to the here and now. For Christ, “blessed”  meant action that led to obedience   toward eternity. Blessed will we be  if when God’s truth is presented  to us in all its wholeness, we follow through and obey unto salvation.

Always,

Judith

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Actions speak louder than words.
–An old adage–