True Christian living requires us to live according to Kingdom standards which bring Heaven to earth.
I read yesterday, 19 Feb 2005, of a man who had died at the age of 63 without ever having had a job. He had spent his entire life since the age of 5 in school and college, studying. It is said he had so many academic degrees that his qualifications looked like the alphabet after his name!
Why? Well when he was child a wealthy relative had named him as a beneficiary in his will to receive ample support so long as he was in full time education. So he had turned education into a full time life long occupation!
He must have spent thousands and thousands of hours listening to learned professors and reading books. He learned a great deal, but unfortunately he never got around to putting his acquired knowledge into practice.
The apostle James has a warning for those who take delight in "religion" - even perhaps in regular and intensive bible study - but who might be tempted to think that study is the 'be all and end all' of life. "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only", he said (James 1:22). Which reminds me of Jesus' story of the two men who built houses on very different foundations - the one on sand and the other on rock. Both were illustrations of those who hear his words. But the one who will be saved he said is the one who hears and DOES.
Neville
Go on to: By the Waters of Babylon
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