'But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.'
James 1:22-25
It’s one thing to say, “I’m a Christian” it’s a completely different thing to live as a Christian. There are so many people professing to be followers of Christ and claim they love Jesus but do they? Do you? Do I?
How can we know? How can we know who’s a believer and who’s a pretender? Well let’s take it to scripture. There’s actually several scriptures that will answer this, but let’s look at John 14:25 where Jesus says “if you love me, keep my commandments.”
Most people consider love a feeling. And sure, there is a feeling that can go along with it, but love is an verb. It’s an action to prove the “feeling” we have towards someone. And if we are professing to be Christians (Christ like) then our actions need to be evidence of this.
Living out the faith is greater than just talking about it. If you profess to love Jesus, pay attention to your actions; are you showing love to others as Jesus would (John 15:12)? Are you forgiving those who wronged you (Ephesians 4:31-32)? Are living out your calling (Matthew 28:18-19)?
It’s so easy to just talk out the faith. To say you’re Christian and love Jesus, but it’s much more difficult to live it out because this walk has its challenges. In fact, Jesus said we would be persecuted because we are following Him (John 15:20). And let’s face it, people (INCLUDING US) want a comfortable life.
But God didn’t promise us an easy life, He told us we’re going to be criticized, challenged, and hated.. If you’re just talking out the faith, it’s easy to deny the faith to avoid the disapproval of the unbelievers around us.
But let us, at A Stitch of Faith, urge you just as James does to live out the faith and not just hear it. Let us all be doers of the Word so those around us can see our good works and give all the glory to God (Matthew 5:16).
The next question that comes naturally is, “how do we do this?”. The answer is always going to be in the Bible. But here’s a brief list already mentioned here in the blog:
- Love Jesus and Keep His commandment (how to do this is in the Bible)
- Forgive those who have wronged you…EVEN if they never ask for it
- Love others as Jesus did (He gave of Himself)
- Make disciples as you are called to do.
This is just to name a few, but even though this list “sounds” easy enough; sometimes doing these things can be extremely challenging. How are you supposed to forgive the people who have hurt you when they won’t even acknowledge their wrong? How can you still do things for them and love them as if they never hurt you?
Sometimes the action of forgiving is harder than expected. But we have to remember that God is more powerful than your fleshly desires (1 John 4:4).
This doesn’t mean we can’t talk out or faith to those around us, just need to keep in mind that living it out is far greater. If we genuinely love God our lives should be evident of that.
How can you make disciples of others when you fined it terrifying to share the faith with others for whatever reason? Well, God will always make a way for you to accomplish His will…because His will will be done. He will always give you the strength, boldness, and courage you need to do what He has called you to do.
If you’re ready to start living out the faith as you have been called to do, but have a little trouble sharing the faith, let us help you with getting the word out to the people around you without you having to start the conversation. Grab a shirt, wear it to the park, and let God work in that moment. Maybe He’ll allow you to see the good that will come from it.
0 comments