6TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

He willed to give us birth by the word of truth. 

In Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with a potion that separates his good and evil sides. When he takes the potion, he changes into the monstrous Edward Hyde. The more potion he drinks, the more Hyde’s nature takes control of him, until it eventually kills him.

Stevenson’s story is a good illustration of St. James’ teaching on temptation. God has given all of us free will to choose good or evil. But our bad choices affect us in somewhat the same way that Dr. Jekyll’s potion affected him: they make us less than human. The more we give in to sinful habits and attitudes, the more they control and define us. As James writes, “Desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death” (1:15). If we’re not careful, sin can destroy us!

But James wants us to know that sin is not the end of the story. God has provided an antidote: the living word of Scripture. It is this word that is able to save us (James 1:21). That doesn’t mean we will no longer have temptations. But God’s word will become “the sword of the Spirit” that will help us battle temptations and sin so that we can experience the freedom that Christ won for us on the cross (Ephesians 6:17).

If you don’t already do so, make it a point to spend some time with at least one Scripture passage every day. Before you begin, ask the Holy Spirit to be with you. Then read the passage several times. Perhaps one word or phrase will jump out at you. If it does, sit with it for a while. What might God be saying to you through this passage or phrase? Write down whatever you are sensing, and let it stay with you as you go about the day.

As you develop a habit of daily Scripture reading, your life will become a “word” of God—a word of truth and compassion. Trust him to make it happen, for he has promised that his word “shall not return . . . empty” (Isaiah 55:11).

“Lord, may your word be the light that guides me each day.”

Psalm 94:12-15, 18-19
Mark 8:14-21
James 1:12-18