Don't just think it, do it!

“As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without actions is dead.” James 2:26. James pulls no punches in urging his fellow Jewish followers of ‘The Way’, to allow their faith and belief in Jesus to inform their actions and the way they live their lives.

For James, faith is a transformative process that influences our very being. Whatever you believe reflects who you are as it motivates your actions and responses to the world around you. If it doesn’t then what good is your belief/faith? James throws out some hard hitting statements.

I have many friends who would think that Christianity is all about a simple transaction between them and God. Believe in God and heaven, which perpetuates the belief that you’re going to heaven, then live your life the way you want. My response to that is their faith is nothing short of very shallow.

A faith that does not promote a way of life is no faith at all. In fact it is hypocrisy to believe in something then act in a way that is contrary to that belief. So this would lead us to the question, ‘What do you believe?’ Do you know the Christian story? If someone asked you could you tell them? Is your faith lived out in what you do? Do people know what you believe just by observing you?

The challenge that constantly lies ahead of churches is to put into action the things that say they believe in. Many churches have a set of core values or mission statement that outlines what they ‘believe’ as a community. The real test is, do we believe it enough to allow it to inform our every move as a church? Do we revisit our belief system to reflect how the living Spirit continues to educate us and speak to us?

The Church worldwide is the living breathing body of Christ. When Christ walked this earth his beliefs and what he stood for oozed out of him, he hardly had to say a word to speak a powerful message when he reached out and touched the leper, allowed the ‘sinful woman’ to wash his feet, or turned over the tables in the temple courts.

Would the living body of Christ (the Church) today, really allow itself to express it’s beliefs through actions as powerful as Christ’s? Saint Francis of Assisi once proclaimed, ‘Preach the Gospel at all times, but only if necessary use words.’ What Saint Francis suggests in saying this is that our actions can speak louder than words.

Jesus' prayer for his disciples in John 17 is one that reflects, if only we would act the way Christ has called us to, then the world may see and believe. My take on that is that when people begin to believe they in turn begin to act. Check the quote of the day in the header. Our actions are in fact the most powerful language we have.

Shalom
Mark

Quote of the day: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead