Loud Faith
I know some of the most sweet, quiet people who are Christ followers. They have a strong and deep faith. They have been Christians for many years. Their faith grew to a certain point and then stopped. I am troubled by this for sure. I was just telling someone yesterday that I’m a different person, spiritually speaking, than I was 10 years ago. I think that I should be more mature in my faith and the Presence of God more evident. My faith in God is a “fluid journey”, it grows and breathes every day. I can’t be complacent in my faith. My behavior will reveal if my faith is growing or if it’s stagnant. I don’t see how I can grow in my faith, if I’m not digging deep in the study of His Word. His Word is alive and speaks deep truth into my heart.
The book of James takes the gloves off and pushes hard on all Christ followers. It’s one thing to say I believe, it’s another to live it out loud for all to see. Check this out…
14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. (James 2:14,17-18,21-24 NLT)
It’s one thing to talk about my faith, it’s another for it to be noticed by how I live and things I do. The Lord is not impressed by words, but neither are others. Words are cheap and easy to roll off our tongue. Words can sound good and “feel” good but be empty and void. I believe that my actions come from my heart. I believe that my words come from my heart too. If I say that I love God and then it doesn’t show up in my behavior, I’m a bold-faced liar. I believe that others should see my faith before I ever have to say a word about it. My kind heart and gentle spirit should go before my words.
I don’t work “for” my salvation – I work “out” my salvation. I don’t obey Christ in order to be saved, I obey Him, BECAUSE I’m saved. I want to be like Abraham and profoundly live out my faith in my everyday life. I want my faith to be obvious. I want my faith to be deep. I want my faith to be seen before I ever speak about it. “What you do speaks so loudly, I can’t hear what you’re saying.”
Pressing On!
Dwayne