Courage To Walk The Walk
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Matthew 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
“Talking the talk is cheap. Walking the walk is the hard part.” This may be a modern paraphrase of what Jesus was saying in these concluding verses in the Sermon on the Mount. In concluding this sermon of radical ideas, Jesus gives a clear illustration of what it will mean if we only hear the words and do not put them into practice. Those who put the words into practice have a solid foundation that allows them to weather the storms of life. Those not able to put the words into practice will lack the strong foundation in their lives.
Matthew gives us an account of what happened with Jesus as he finished these words in his sermon. In the verses and devotional that follows in Matthew 8, we see what actions Jesus takes on concluding the sermon. He not only told us to put these words of the sermon into practice, but he also demonstrated this with what he did.
One morning as I was making rounds at the hospital, my three-year-old son, Jason was with me. One of the hospital nurses commented to me that my son walked exactly as I walked. I asked what she meant. She responded, “You know, he swings his arms the funny way you do.”
I was surprised two ways. I had no idea the nurses were watching my walk. I wasn’t aware of any particular characteristic of my walking pattern. Secondly, I was not aware Jason might be learning this “funny walk” from me. After some thought, I realized, I was influencing Jason in ways I didn’t know or intend. Because he spent so much time with me, he was walking my walk.
It got me thinking. I hope I am walking the walk of my Heavenly Father. I pray I am not just talking the talk. I pray that I am walking the walk just like my father.
Lord, help me not just talk the talk, but give me the faith and courage to walk the walk.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Jad Limcaco on Unsplash
