I was reading James this morning.
When I got to the part in chapter two about faith and deeds a realization came to me more clearly than it has in the past.
Faith MUST be linked with actions.
Abraham was credited with believing God because of his actions. Without acting, he would not have received this credit. Faith cannot be separated from action and live. Similarly, action separated from faith means nothing.
I think this struck me because in Sunday school we've been discussing advent and for the past two weeks we've come to the realization that we have an active role in bringing God's kingdom to earth. Hope is not something that we just sit around thinking and wishing for. We must take action and be part of bringing about whatever it is that we are hoping for! Likewise, peace is not going to abound if we are not actively working to become peacemakers. Now we have three key attitudes: faith, hope, and peace, that all require action. I'm sure there are many more but these are the three I've been thinking about.
This faith that we claim to have, this "religion" that we follow is not passive. It is active. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27). A C T I O N. Help others. Work on yourself. Don't just sit around waiting for God to fix the brokenness of the world. Do what you can to be a part of it.
When I got to the part in chapter two about faith and deeds a realization came to me more clearly than it has in the past.
Faith MUST be linked with actions.
Abraham was credited with believing God because of his actions. Without acting, he would not have received this credit. Faith cannot be separated from action and live. Similarly, action separated from faith means nothing.
I think this struck me because in Sunday school we've been discussing advent and for the past two weeks we've come to the realization that we have an active role in bringing God's kingdom to earth. Hope is not something that we just sit around thinking and wishing for. We must take action and be part of bringing about whatever it is that we are hoping for! Likewise, peace is not going to abound if we are not actively working to become peacemakers. Now we have three key attitudes: faith, hope, and peace, that all require action. I'm sure there are many more but these are the three I've been thinking about.
This faith that we claim to have, this "religion" that we follow is not passive. It is active. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27). A C T I O N. Help others. Work on yourself. Don't just sit around waiting for God to fix the brokenness of the world. Do what you can to be a part of it.
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