“faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17
I had just put the finishing touch on the new floor in my wife’s sewing room. It was her Christmas present this year and I was glad it was finally done! Now I could rest easy and recover from the physical exertion it took to complete. I was in the bedroom when she walked in and told me how much she appreciated me. THEN she said, “can you imagine how THIS room will look when IT is done?” What happened next was epic!
After a look of wide-eyed shock, I started to laugh. “You’re crazy,” I said, “I haven’t even recovered yet and you’re pressing to do THIS room already?” And HERE is where it got good! “Oh no,” she said… “I know how hard you worked. Besides, this bed is SO BIG and SOOOO HEAVY how would you even MOVE it?” “Well,” I replied, “I could………….” and halfway through my sentence I realized I was dealing with either Huck Finn’s distant relative or the devil herself!”
There are moment in relationships that instantly become engraved as part of a shared story. While it might be retold over and over in a crowded setting, the only 2 parties that can REALLY appreciate it are the ones who actually lived it. She admitted today that she wasn’t even being sneaky or scheming, as those words just sort of flew out of her mouth with no thought at all! Which makes my situation even MORE tragic.
I am married to a PRESUMPTUOUS, scheming and demanding partner who has me wrapped around her little finger! It’s like she really, deep down believes that her wish should be my command! And before I can get mad, God reminds me that ‘He’ has the same mindset!
1 Corinthians 13:13 says, now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Contemplating this, I can actually interchange them with today’s verse and have it read, “LOVE, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead!” It is a lesson of God’s expectant behavior from me toward Him. A royal decree presuming that, as His child, a prince, I am expected to ACT and BE like one!
My wife is going to have to be satisfied with the picture she has in her head of our completed bedroom. But deep inside, ‘she’ knows.. and ‘I’ know, that the image is as good as had! Because her wish IS my command… sort of! God has His own plans for me as well! But they are ALWAYS for good. He has ways to get me to bite the hook and get me where He wants. But I am not protesting too much. You see, I share His life… just like I share the house with my wife. And that’s a good thing!
