Pastor Steve Sjogren suggests that before we try to convince other people of God's love with a four point presentation and carefully printed literature we ought to show them the love of God practically. Case in point; Theresa, a young single mom, who was broke and discouraged. Her dented Toyota idled roughly at the Taco Bell drive thru. She was there because a search for loose change had produced a few bucks, all she had in the world. She just decided to take her 8 year old son out thinking, "Anyway you look at it, we don't have enough money to make it to my next welfare check, so let's go out with a little style." As she pulled up to the window to pay, the guy standing there met her with a big smile and told her it was her lucky day. "The people in the car ahead of you paid for your order and told me to give you this card." On it she read, "We hope this small act of service shows you God's love in a practical way." A church's name and address were printed on the flip side of the card. The next day found Theresa and her son in that church, where she found the help she needed to get back on her feet and a new beginning in life. (REV., January, 2007)
James urges us to keep our faith connected to real life. What we truly believe, he says, will always have a discernable effect on the way we live. "What’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” I say, “I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” (James 2:14-18, NLT)
I am examining my life for places where my professed faith in Jesus is disconnected from my words and actions. I don't want to bring dishonor on the Name of Christ by being hypocritical, that is, living a life where my rhetoric is unmatched by what I do, even unconsciously. This applies to so many areas in addition to compassion to those who are poor which is where James, the Apostle, makes his point. How about the way we deal with outcasts? For example, there is a whole group of people in America that experience rejection on a grand scale everyday - those convicted of crimes of a sexual nature, especially against children. Yes, such a crime is repugnant and has terrible consequences for those who are abused, but Jesus loves and died for pedophiles, didn't He? Shouldn't we love them, too, albeit with proper safeguards in place for our children? Of course, we must! Conservative Christians have had a terrible relationship with homosexuals, in part admittedly because we hold to the Bible's truth that homosexual behavior is not acceptable to God. But we also need to face the fact that, as a group, we have not exactly extended a welcome mat to gay men and lesbian women in our church communities, either.
"I will show you my faith through my good deeds" has implications for our personal relationships, too. Love is the core of Jesus' teaching, and yet many who claim to be His followers are carrying around terrible anger over unresolved conflicts. How many of us, even as we say we love God and are loved by Him, at the same time, continue to harbor bitterness against a neighbor, or a family member, or a church leader? How can this be? Can we really have experienced the reality of God's love and remain hateful? Not according to Scripture. "If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to eternal life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another Christian is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them." (1 John 3:14-15, NLT) Ouch! That hits kind of close to home, doesn't it? Since conflict is the number one issue for most American churches, I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about the reality of the spiritual experience of many who claim to be followers of Christ! What I will do is to ask the Holy Spirit to help me to close the gap between my words and actions, to make my faith real and observable to those among whom I work and play.
We must not miss the point of being a Christian. We are not Christians simply because we have claimed to have understood the four spiritual laws, or because we once said a prayer with Billy Graham at the end of a televised service, or because we affirmed some doctrinal statement and received a baptism certificate. We are Christians when our faith is real, which leads us to working out the implications of the Gospel of Christ in the real world, with the Spirit's help, on a daily basis. John says, "My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality." (1 John 3:18-19, The Message)
Here's a 50 cent phrase to remember - Orthodoxy will produce orthopraxy. In simpler terms, if we really connect to the truth of God, our lives will come into line with the will of God!
So, it's Christmas. There's a ton of sentimentality attached to this holiday. Let me encourage you to go beyond that little tear in the corner of your eye, that catch in your throat, to do the tough work of applying the Story to life. If you believe that Jesus is really Emmanuel, God with us, then invite Him to live in you. Think through what it means to embrace Him as both Savior and Lord - and let it show- for the glory of God.
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O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
O come, thou Rod of Jesse free,
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of hell thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
And drive away the shades of night,
And pierce the clouds and bring us light.
O come, thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel!
O Come O Come Emmanuel -Neale, John M. / Coffin, Henry S. / Helmore, Thomas
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