“But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2:18
Knowing it was going to be a crazy day before it even started, I ran through the places and schedule of where and when I had to be. After a phone call had come in, my 3 appointments had just turned into 6. When the time was approaching event # 3, I noticed that my grass was NOT up to par with the neighbors. In fact… it was VERY long and stringy. The question popped into my head, “do I have enough time to fit this in?” I BELIEVED I DID… but I was wasting time.
Quickly changing into my work clothes after deciding to race the clock, I realized that I just added a #8 to the mix! I was going to need a shower! With no time to think about it, I ran through the list! I have a lawn mower AND the gas to run it. I believed that mixing 3 things together could get the job done and on time! So gas in mower and mower in hand… I pulled the starter and off I went!
Having been on a FAITH study for a while, and with plenty of time to think as I mowed, it came to my mind that cutting the crass is NOT MYSTICAL. Jesus was trying to teach me something! I KNEW and BELIEVED that the mower was in working order and KNEW and BELIEVED that with fuel and MY energy, the tool COULD and WOULD cut the lawn. But… KNOWING and BELIEVING did NOT cut the grass. “I did!”
FAITH is a VERY BIG word! But I think man, along with satan’s help, has watered it down to a fraction of its original size. Especially in the Church’s mind! Faith has turned into some mystical, cloudy idea that has no meat or teeth to it. And I believe Christ is not happy about it either! Slogans like, “have faith and everything will work out OK.” and “I have faith that ‘so and so’ will do the right thing,” are not FAITH! They are WISHES! And wishing is NOT Faith!
My grass did NOT get cut because of my faith. It got cut because I used the TOOLS of faith to CUT IT! I had to actually DO something to EXERCISE my Faith in order to get the job DONE! To this, I lay my question. Do you believe that God can save your family member or friend? Then what are YOU DOING to see to it that the saving gets done? Do YOU believe that God can stop that weak area of your life and turn it into victory for Him? Then what are YOU DOING to apply His power and promises to YOUR problem?
FAITH, as I see it, is an ACTION word. It cannot, will not and does not work if elbow grease is not applied. And just like there is a method to cutting my grass ( I do not push it around in circles with no plan) there is ALSO a method to applying God’s resources to any task at hand. If you don’t know HOW… you can easily get help. Just ASK a brother or sister who has a nice looking yard!
FAITH is WORK! FAITH gets dirty and messy! FAITH does NOT come with ease! And FAITH usually requires an occasional shower. But make no mistake… if you are sitting on your haunches and looking at a messy yard, know for sure that GOD is using that vision to get you to GET UP AND MOVE!
The clock it ticking!
