James 2:21-24
Don’t you remember that even our
father Abraham was declared good because of what he did when he was
willing to obey God, even if it meant offering his son Isaac to die on
the altar? You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to
do whatever God told him to; his faith was made complete by what he
did—by his actions, his good deeds. And so it happened just as the
Scriptures say, that Abraham trusted God, and the Lord declared him good
in God’s sight, and he was even called “the friend of God.” So you see,
a man is saved by what he does, as well as by what he believes.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Yesterday, Timothy wanted
me to play “Spiderman” with him. What this amounted to was that I
pretended that a “villain” was after me…and Timothy pretended to be
Spiderman and rescued me with his “webs” that he “shot” from his hands
to capture the bad guy. He thought of several villains for me to
pretend were attacking…and then he said, “Now, you think of one.” I
chose Cat Woman. He said, “No, no! Cat Woman goes with Batman. Well,
okay…I’ll be Batman.”
So Timothy pretended to be Batman (and he
changed his “voice” to fit the character). I told him that Cat Woman was
bothering me, and he looked a little frustrated and said, “Well…she’s
kinda my wife, so I can’t really do anything about that! But I guess I
could talk to her and see if she will leave you alone.”
So often,
we are like the Timothy/Batman character. We tell God…I hear you
calling for me to do XYZ…but my hands are tied. There’s really not much
I can do. (Insert excuses here!) We claim weakness of some sort…lack
of time…desire to pursue other interests…feelings of inferiority, and
more. We blame our family, our job, and our studies. Sometimes, we like
how things are going…even when we know that what we are doing is not
really what God wants. And sometimes, we just simply are not willing to
do what God asks, whether we readily admit this or not.
Do these
sound like the actions of someone who has unwavering faith in God to
handle every single detail? Does this reflect the confidence of someone
who truly believes that when God calls us to do something, He
will adjust our schedules, smooth out the rough spots, and fully equip
us to do it? Is our trust in God as strong as that of Abraham? Could we
place our child upon an altar, draw a sharp knife, and prepare to
sacrifice him/her because we “heard” or “felt” an unseen God tell us to
do this?
Just how big is our faith, anyway?! When we claim to
trust in God for all things, are we making a point…or are we making a
difference? Do our words and actions demonstrate our confidence and
obedience…or have we tailored a Christian “faith” that suits our
timetable and personal desires? Do our excuses sound about as lame as
those of a six-year-old “Batman” who claims he has little control over a
villain?
Look…true Christian faith is scary sometimes. God
calls us to step up – and out – and to do some pretty daunting things.
Speaking up is hard for some of us, while others find it a stretch to
give up control – of lots of things! But all we have to do is think
about Jesus…how He obeyed God…how he suffered and sacrificed – and stood up for you and me, in amazing, incomprehensible ways.
Now I ask you again…how big is your faith…and are you ready to show it?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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