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Hearers and Doers

October 4th, 2023

2 Chronicles 34:19-25

There is a traditional Eastern Orthodoxy story of a spiritual director and his new disciple. The elder gave his pupil a short passage of scripture for meditation and told him to go off and meditate on it. Two weeks later having not heard from his disciple, the spiritual director searched him out and expressed surprise that he hadn’t returned for further instruction. “But I haven’t finished meditating on the first word,” he replied.

Josiah was convicted in hearing from the book of the law and how it called Israel to live. Josiah knew that Israel had wandered far away in their relationship with Yahweh. He sought counsel from his spiritual leaders and worked to help Israel reestablish the covenant to be centered and focused on God, to live as God’s holy people in the world.

What if we had a deep desire to be people of the Book? Meditating on the word of the Lord prepares and empowers us to be not just hearers of the word, but doers also (James 1:22). May the Holy Spirit move us to live by God’s holy love for the sake of the world.

Author: Michael Scarlett