Posts Tagged: John 7:17

“First things First: the Priority of Doing”

On October 29, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” (John 7:17, English Standard Version)

Jesus was in the midst of controversy when he spoke these words.  Some people were saying that Jesus was a good man.  Others thought him a deceiver.  Shortly after Jesus spoke these words, the crowd accused him of having a demon.

In other words, it was a fairly typical time in Jesus’ life.  He seemed (and still seems) to generate controversy, wherever he went.

Here, Jesus says something very simple: You only know the truth when you act.

Too often, we sit around waiting.  We are waiting for Truth, for Love, for Something.  And all too often, no mighty wave of Truth crashes over us.  No Love taps us on the shoulder, spins us around, and gives us a kiss.  Something does happen, but it isn’t the something we had hoped for.

Perhaps we should do something.  Doing often comes first.  Knowing is often the caboose of the train, not its engine.

By the by, this is not just true in spiritual matters.  If you want to learn anything from cooking to plumbing, from learning to sew to figuring out how to rewire a light switch, you have to do something.

Don’t get me wrong!  Knowing is important.  But far too often, we think we have to know everything before we do anything.  Also, we have a tendency to think that knowing always precedes doing.  Sometimes, yes, but not always.

A commentator on John 7:17 says it pretty well:

“If they choose to do God’s will, Jesus said, they will find out his teaching comes from God. This enunciates a very important fact: recognizing the truth of Jesus’ teaching is not dependent upon intellectual ability or formal learning, nor is it a reward for the noble search for truth. It depends, rather, upon a person’s willingness to do the will of God. The impediments to knowing the truth about God are more likely to be moral (lack of readiness to do God’s will) than anything else.”  (Colin G. Kruse, The Gospel according to John: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, p. 184)

Usually, we already know something we need to do.  We would probably become a lot smarter if we would just do that.

Excuse me, but I need to finish this post.  I’ve got some things that I know I need to do to prepare for the class I’m teaching this afternoon!

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“ACTION FIRST, WORD LATER”

On January 8, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.” (John 7:17, New Living Translation, italics mine)

My wife is taking our dog to puppy lessons.  Our dog doesn’t really need any lessons to be a puppy; she is already pretty good at that.  Being a good puppy is another matter, at least at times.

My wife came home from the first lesson with all kinds of good ideas, which I was promptly told about.  I’m not sure, but I suspect that my sweetheart is hoping that some of the suggestions may be transferrable to another species—particularly to a homo sapiens with whom my wife has to deal on a regular basis.  I think that her suspicion is correct.

For example, one of the principles that the puppy training manual handout holds out is as follows:  “Teaching your dog a reliable Sit is very important.  . . .”

The instructions continue with,

“Don’t say ‘Sit’ yet.  Your dog needs to master the action first.  If you say the word before your dog understands the action, he’ll become immune to the word.  When your dog sits every time you use the hand motion, you can add the word.”

Action first is a principle that I am still trying to master.  I want to have a word for something I am supposed to be doing, before I do anything.  Frequently, I get so interested in the word that I forget all about the action.  The Book of James in the New Testament has a great deal to say to people like me.

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:19-25 New Living Translation)

Someone has defined a committee as “a group of people talking about what they should be doing.”  That is pretty good as a definition.  It is even better as a wry comment.  If you didn’t get the wry flavor on a first reading, try rereading the definition, with the emphasis on the word “should”!

I am also reminded of the old quip, “When all is said and done, there’s a lot more said than done.”  Yes indeed!

Perhaps I should actually do something today.  I’m not sure if posting a blog counts or not.

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