James 2:18
I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Ever since I was a teenager, my family has enjoyed a special recipe for spaghetti sauce that came from my Aunt Martha Raye. This meat and tomato blend is rich and flavorful… filled with seasonings like oregano, cumin, sweet basil, and of course – garlic. The recipe makes a huge amount that can be frozen in small containers for individual servings. All you have to do is cook some pasta and heat the sauce to pour over it.
I could eat cooked pasta all by itself… I love it that much. And a dish of plain pasta would serve the purpose of feeding someone who was hungry. The same could be said for the spaghetti sauce. It could be poured into a bowl and eaten with a spoon… and once again, hunger would be sated. But when you pour this spaghetti sauce over the noodles, something magical happens. You have a complete dish… one that tastes altogether different and is incredibly satisfying on several levels. You have a complete meal!
Honestly, to serve the sauce or the pasta by themselves would be a little ridiculous. The two were meant to work in tandem to produce a delicious, hearty, nourishing dish. And yes, there will be those picky eaters who say, “I just want noodles,” or “I’ll just have a little sauce.” But they are missing out on the bigger picture… the gratification of a blend of textures, spices, flavors, nutrients and more.
Do you see what I am saying here in relation to our walk with Jesus? We can’t have the “sauce” without the “pasta.” We can’t say we trust Him to meet our needs and answer our prayers, then walk around in a funk as if we just lost our last friend… worried and wringing our hands over the very issues we handed to Him in confidence. As I told my husband recently about my some of my own concerns... “How can I write daily devotionals - and challenge all of us to trust God and truly live like we know He is going to do what He says - if I am moping around and acting sad, upset, and worried all the time?”
How can we say to someone, “I know that God is working this out for you,” then act like things are falling apart in our own life? How can we show up to help with children’s programs, deliver Meals on Wheels, work at the food bank and thrift store, visit the sick and elderly, and offer others a glimpse of the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ… then sulk and brood about their circumstances – and/or our own? How can we sit back and say, “God will take care of this… He doesn’t need my input,” and not put our faith into action?
When people look at you, do they see someone who is hopeful, confident, and fully walking in faith as you serve God in whatever manner He has directed? Or do they see someone who either says, “I have full confidence in God to meet our needs” while you sit on your hands and never even offer to help someone else or serve in any capacity? Do they see someone who is always front and center to do whatever needs to be done – all the while pouting and worrying about this or that and lamenting that “I just don’t know what will happen.”
Faith-filled Christians can’t have “spaghetti sauce” without the “pasta”… or vice versa. It’s a two-fold design. Faith and works must work in tandem. I can assure you, this is not always easy. The devil is ready and waiting to trip us up… to whisper in our ear and say, “Yeah, BUT… what if this? What about that? How can you really be so sure? How can you possibly smile and be happy while all of this is going on? Do you really need to serve… won’t God take care of this by Himself?”
Don’t listen to the devil… brush him off your shoulder and stand up straight and tall, confident in God’s ability to handle all things – and your obligation to serve Him and do your part. Faith and works… “pasta and sauce”… one requires the other. Be sure your plate includes an ample serving of both!
©2012 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment