Our Christmas poinsettias were perfectly fine, and absolutely beautiful a few weeks ago when hubby brought them home from the store.
I’ve been faithful to water them regularly. But their leaves are turning a dark black-red color; their leaves are becoming dry and crispy around the edges; their leaves are falling off.
Sadness.
Perhaps I’ve not been watering them enough?? I pick up one of the poinsettias, expecting it to be lightweight from being bone-dry. But much to my surprise, it’s heavy. What???
I gently take hold of the festive silver-foil encasing the poinsettia and lift the plant up out of the pot.
Lo and behold, the plant has been sitting in an inch or two of standing water! … for weeks now. The pretty white decorative pot did not allow for any drainage. So every time I watered it, the excess water just collected in the bottom.
Hubby and I have been reading through the book of James each evening. The other night we read the passage: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. … Faith without works is dead.” – James 1:22; James 2:26
I couldn’t help but think of the sad, sickly poinsettias.
Perhaps a paraphrase of this passage might be: If you claim to be a Christian [aka if you are a poinsettia], do not merely take in the water of the Word of God, and think that’s good enough. Do something with it! Just continually sitting in a pot of standing water (of the Word of God) will lead to death if there is no outflow.
It is the Christmas Season of Advent … when we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ … whose very name is the “Word of God” (John 1:1-4; Revelation 19:11-13).
Why exactly did Jesus come??
Jesus Christ (the “Word of God”) came to bring the Word of God to us!
* The Word of God reveals to us who God is.
* The Word of God reveals to us who we are: we are sinners and separated from God.
* The Word of God reveals to us that God has made a way to take away our sin and restore our broken relationship with Him.
* The Word of God brings life! … eternal life!
“In Him [Jesus Christ, the ‘Word of God’] was life.” – John 1:4
“I have come that they may have life … and life more abundantly.” – John 10:10
The entire purpose of Jesus (the “Word of God”) coming, was to bring life! This is the whole reason we are celebrating Christmas!
The entire purpose of the written Word of God (the Bible) is to bring life!
But what happens when people only ever read the Word of God, but don’t actually do anything with what they read? What if, for some people, the Word of God is just simply information?
These people become like the sad, sickly poinsettias … only ever taking in the “water” of the Word of God … “soaking” in the “water” of the Word of God … “standing in” the “water” of the Word of God … but nothing more.
The Word of God is information … yes. But the purpose of that information is to lead to transformation! Changed lives! Lives that are empowered by the Spirit of God! Lives that are changing to become more and more like Jesus Christ (the “Word of God”)!
Lives that are overflowing with the love of God, with the grace of God, with compassion, forgiveness, kindness, and mercy!
The sad sickly poinsettias were drowning in water … and dying … even though they looked super Christmassy with festive silver foil, and pretty white decorative pots.
So also, in the same way, many Christians are “drowning” in the water of the Word of God … their faith-walk with Jesus Christ (the “Word of God”) is becoming dry and crispy around the edges … even though by all external appearances they look super “Christian” and do lots of super “spiritual” things.
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. … Faith without works is dead.” – James 1:22; James 2:26
