Lessons from JH Ranch - Part 4

I heard but I forgot, I saw and I remembered, I did and I understood.

This may be the most memorable of all of the sayings from JH. As you know, I’m always curious as to where these quotes come from so I found out that this was taken from an old Chinese proverb. I know that China isn’t very popular these days but, I guess that we need to give credit where credit is due. “Chy Nahhh” as Trump would say. Ha.

Where else would we go but the book of James for a scripture reference that captures this phrase? James is the book that is studied the most at the Ranch. Look at the awesome truths in this passage.

James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Hearer: Hearing God’s truths is great. We certainly need to hear the Word of God taught to us by people that know how to teach it properly. It is a big part of our weekly worship and having a steady diet of this “solid food” is a big key to our spiritual growth. But, hearing it alone doesn’t transform our lives the way that God intends them to be transformed. The passage above tells us that we are “deceiving ourselves” if we think otherwise.

Seer: Seeing the love of Christ in others is very powerful for all of us and it impacts us in such a way that we remember it. We have all experienced the blessing of someone modeling that for us either by being ministered to personally or by seeing them minister to someone else. It inspires us to want to go and do the same. Seeing is impactful and memorable.

Doer: On Father’s Day a few years ago, Will and I had the chance to go to Kangaroo Lake near the Ranch. I had never been there before but had always heard about how beautiful it was. When we got there, I had the opportunity to see the incredible place that it is. But, what made all of the difference was the climb to the highest peak overlooking the lake. We hadn’t really planned to do it but we kept going and going until we reached the top - snow and all. The experience of making that climb brought a whole new perspective to that place and is something that will always be with me. I’ve heard about many beautiful places in this world and gotten the opportunity to see quite a few; but, I’ll never forget the experience that day of doing.

This is the life that God is calling us to. Hear my truths, see my goodness, then go and be a “doer.” Doing is the evidence that the truths that we have heard and seen have taken root in our hearts and are transforming us into the image of Christ. Christ was a doer. We are to be an “imitator of Christ” as we go and do the same.

What can you do this week that provides the evidence of what we have heard and seen?

Stay Hungry,

Big E