Faith and Action

This morning I am reading and thinking about a familiar passage from James 2:14-17 NIV:

[14] "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? [15] Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. [16] If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? [17] In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

When I read these verses, my personal meditation is whether someone could tell I am a Christian by my actions? I find it interesting that James wrote this immediately following a section on judging other peoples clothing, and treating them differently, a very un-Christ-like behavior. I think James's main point is that if we are truly Christians, we will act like Jesus acted, and His actions were in one with the Truth He espoused. In James' mind, it was impossible for a person to have experienced salvation, forgiveness of sins, freedom from the requirements of the law, and in-filling of the Holy Spirit, and have no outward expression.

James was addressing a group who were proposing that if salvation was through faith alone, it was possible to believe the truth, and be saved and have no outward expression. Early in the church, there were many different streams of thought, and in particular, there was a group of Jewish believers pushing for an intellectual affirmation of faith as the only requirement of salvation, most likely because of the challenge of living the life and actions demonstrated by Christ. He laid down His life for others, demonstrated a servant leadership, worked and ministered among the sinners and downtrodden, and did not enjoy the luxuries of wealth or status. He pushed the boundaries of many of the thoughts of the Jews, and demonstrated the fallacy of others. Jesus called us to follow his example of life, and clearly there were those who didn't want to change their lifestyles.

In our day, it is apparent that our world has, in large part, a wrong perspective of what a follower of Christ should look like. This is unfortunately the result of religion, which causes judgement, separation from the world, and pride. None of these existed in Jesus' example, but in many places the church has embraced them. Jesus said that they would know that we are His followers by our love, not by our observance of religious rules, our speech, or our separation from those around us who are sinners. Our love, like His, will be evident to all, in other words, visible through external actions.

So my question this morning is whether people can tell I am following Christ's example through my actions? Is my primary motivation love? Am I allowing Christ's example to penetrate every area of my life? Am I willing to do more than say words, and actually take action? Will I reach out to the lowly, the downtrodden, the sinner, those in need and love them. Can people tell, just by observing my interactions in public, that I am a follower of Jesus?

Lord, I want to be full of faith and full of action!