Turn it On

What time was it when you put dinner in the oven, Dad?" asked Mark. "I'm hungry! It seems like we've been waiting a long time for that lasagna to be ready, but I don't even smell it yet."
"I don't either," said Dad. He glanced at his watch. "Mom said it would need to bake about an hour." Dad got up and went to the kitchen. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed. "I followed the directions Mom left-took the cover off and put the dish in the oven-but I forgot to turn the oven on! I guess she figured I'd know enough to do that. Looks like dinner will take quite a while yet."
"Da-a-ad! I'm starving!" complained Mark.
"I'm sorry," apologized Dad. "Let's have an apple to take care of some of the hunger pangs." They each chose a shiny red apple. "This mistake reminds me of Pastor Grey's message last Sunday," added Dad.
Mark grinned. "Oh-oh! Did he made a mistake, too?" he asked.
"No . . . no. But it reminds me of some things he said," Dad replied with a smile as he reached for the Bible on a nearby shelf. He turned to the book of James and asked Mark to read several verses from the end of the first chapter. "Remember what Pastor Grey told us?" Dad asked when Mark finished reading.
"Same thing this chapter says," answered Mark. "He said we often take in God's Word, but we don't apply it to our lives. But what's that got to do with the oven or our lasagna?"
"Well, in Sunday school and church-and in our own devotions-we're taught how we should live. But when we become too concerned with our own pleasures and plans, it's like we don't 'turn those lessons on' in our lives. The knowledge sits there-cold, like our lasagna," explained Dad. "Like God says, we need to be 'doers' of His word-let them fill us and apply them to daily life. Otherwise we're left . . ."
"Hungry," finished Mark with a frown, "like I am now!"
"Spiritually hungry," agreed Dad. With a twinkle in his eye, he added, "And unforgiving and unkind and accusing and . . ."
Mark grinned at his father. "Okay, Dad," he said, "you're forgiven, and I'll try to remember to 'turn on' the Bible lessons I've been taught."