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On a bright blue sky afternoon, we sat across from each other in a restaurant booth and ate our lunch—me, a hamburger, french fries, and sweetened iced tea—when my friend said:
Ernie: “I’ve been thinking about my faith in Christ.”
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Me: I finished chewing a big bite of my hamburger and swallowed before I mumbled, “Good for you.”
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Ernie: “Yeah, I’m thinking my faith needs deeds otherwise it’s little more than do the minimum religion.”
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Me: “Hmm.” Not totally engaged in listening I reached for my glass of tea.
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Ernie: “Actual belief is mixed with doing something beneficial, over and over again.”
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Me: “Uh huh.” I noticed Ernie hadn’t touched his BLT, coleslaw, or cream and sugared coffee.
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Ernie: “Faith in God leads to doing something meaningful. It’s Matthew 6:33 isn’t it? ‘But more than anything else put God’s work first and do what he wants …’ (CEV).”
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Me: Starting to get engaged I said, “I guess so, I’ve never thought of it that way.”
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Ernie: “Faith with follow through is necessary.” He took a sip of his coffee and wrapped both hands around his cup as he looked me in the eye.
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Me: “You’re suggesting that faith is following through with what God has already shown me is the right thing to do?” I looked away and added a couple of shakes of salt to my fries.
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Ernie: “Test yourself, do the thing you haven’t done that you know you ought to do.”
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Me: “What?”
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Ernie: “You know what your failure is, so flip it. Decide to do the right thing.”
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Me: I took another bite of my burger and chewed slowly buying time because I didn’t want to admit any of my mistakes. I asked, “And what would this accomplish?”
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Ernie: “Belief in action offers what you want most—intimacy with Jesus.” He set his cup down and picked up his fork.
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Me: “Say what?”
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Ernie: “That’s right because God replaces your idea of fun with His reality of fun. The real fun is wrapped in doing something meaningful with God. It’s His power bar.” He lifted a fork full of coleslaw to his mouth and before inserting the food said, “Chew and swallow this power bar and you’ll find the fulfillment and satisfaction you’re longing for.”
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Me: “Okay,sure, if you say so.”
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Ernie: “As an example Jesus’ new command tells us how to prosper in life.”
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Me: “What are you saying?”
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Ernie: “Obedience brings prosperity in all our relationships—with God, others, and ourselves.”
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Me: “I see.”
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Ernie: “Well then, what if today you and I practice Jesus’ new commandment: ‘Love others the way I have loved you.’ What will happen?”
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Me: “Are you going to eat your BLT?”
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Ernie: “Faith requires us to put our belief in motion. Act. Do what’s commanded.”
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Me: “Um sure. Power Bar. That was a good meal. You’re buying, right?”
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Audio:
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In your Bible in James 2 you’ll read : “Faith without works is dead.”
I think this simply means that faith without an action instrument is just like consuming empty calories—there isn’t any nutritional value.
Faith needs activity and activity suggests I do something.
I’m kidding myself if I say I’ve put my faith in Jesus and reject doing anything to demonstrate my faith in Jesus. As James writes faith and works are a nutritious power bar.
Thanks for your company on Lee’s Nite Radio.
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