I talk to a lot of Christians who feel this way. For whatever reason, we think doing "spiritual" works makes us good Christians. We realize that we can't earn our salvation through works; it is by God's grace alone and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we have the hope of salvation and eternal life. Yet, we still feel we need to be spiritual in order to please God. We envision carrying our Bibles around all the time and talking to everyone we meet about Jesus. We probably will not actually do those things but still think that if we did we would be better Christians.
However, the Bible seems to have a different perspective. James 2:14-26 talks extensively about the idea that faith without deeds is really no faith at all. People with true faith in Christ will live that faith out in their deeds. But, the examples James gives us in this passage are more practical than spiritual. He talks about meeting the physical needs of people, and gives an example from the Old Testament about a woman who lived her faith by giving travelers a place to stay; he also mentions looking after those who need food and clothing. James 1:27 says that the kind of religion God wants is one that looks after widows and orphans and keeps oneself from being polluted by the world. There are other places in the Bible that talk about sharing your faith, praying for people, or doing some other spiritual thing, but these passages in James make it clear that meeting the practical needs of others is just as important.
Perhaps you are called to be a missionary, pastor, or evangelist; but more likely, God has placed you in some other role/job. Either way, one of the major ways God is calling you to live out your faith is by looking after the practical needs of those around you. Perhaps these people are in your family, at your work place, live down the street, or eat lunch at the local food kitchen. Do you typically ignore these people or do you treat them as if God has called you to help meet some of their needs? This might be as simple as taking the trash out instead of waiting for someone else to do it or making it a habit to ask your co-worker, family member, or neighbor if there is anything you can help them with. The next time your co-worker looks like they could use some extra help with something, perhaps giving them a hand (even though you are busy) is the spiritually right thing to do.
Certainly we should pray, share our faith, and read our Bibles, but we should also "do" something to help meet the needs around us; this is how the Bible tells us to life. How would our world look if more of us responded to our spiritual calling to help meet the practical needs of those around us? Can you imagine how pleased God is when we follow his word instead of just doing what we think is right in our own eyes?
Written By: Jonathan N, May 16, 2016
To ensure you don't miss future posts, subscribe by entering your email address into the block labeled "follow by email" on the top right hand side of this page.
Image courtesy of jesadaphorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
No comments:
Post a Comment