Vital Signs

The following blog entry is compliments of Pastor Leon Hiebert, Community Care Pastor of Generations Church, Andover, KS

Scripture: James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. …
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Observation: How do we know someone loves us? It is by the way their words back up their actions. If there are no actions, then we come to know that there is no love. Self-serving actions only prove that they love themselves. Self-sacrificing actions are proof that they love another.  And so it is with faith. Faith is proved by action. When someone has faith, it can be seen. Of course, God sees the heart and is the only true judge of someone’s faith and deeds. But it is impossible to hide true faith from others. Those working in the emergency room check vital signs (respiration, pulse, brain waves) to see if life is present. So works are the vital signs of faith.  So in what do I place my faith? I place my faith in the work of Jesus who died on the cross as the payment for my sins. My works (which man can see) show proof that my faith (which only God can see) is settled in him.  In the Old Testament, the law required specific works. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit living within us shows us what to do. The command is “love” and the Spirit nudges us in how to express that love.

Application: I am to live my life so that my faith can be seen. Let my love and devotion to Christ be well known. May my talking about it not be the first someone knows about it.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for what you have done for me. Holy Spirit, show me how to express my faith and love today. Amen.