Are You Willing to Get Involved?
By Shauna Leis
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
James 2:14-26
There are many times those circumstances in our lives cause us to be a bit squeamish about getting involved. Several months ago, my daughter developed the stomach flu. Now, my children are prone to gagging and throwing up at the drop of a hat, so they are very good about getting directly to the bathroom when they feel the urge to get rid of all that is within them. However, the stomach flu, if you have ever experienced it, does not allow one time to get much of anywhere. Thus was the case for Grace, our sweet three year old.
Late one night, I heard Grace in her bed complaining that her stomach was hurting, and the next thing I knew the precious thing was throwing up everywhere. Now, I could have surveyed the situation when I arrived and decided that I really did not want to get involved. I mean, honestly, there was no way that I was going to get into the middle of this and not get covered myself with some of the sickness, too. So, like any good mom, I walked in and picked her up right as she was throwing up and carried her into the bathroom and just held her until it was all over. Then I put us both into a hot shower, cleaned us up, and sent us both to bed.
Now, I did not tell you that story to make you sick, too, as I know some people cannot even think about other people throwing up without starting to gag themselves. But, rather I want us to parallel this thought with the message that James brought to us in the second chapter above. James reminded us that our lives are going to get messy because we are intertwined every day with other people. God did not create us in this world to live a life of isolation. God designed us to be in this world, creating relationships with other people. And, yes, sometimes those relationships get messy. Sometimes they get physically messy – job losses, death, illness. And sometimes they get spiritually messy – sin.
Through everything that goes on, Jesus wants us out there getting involved, even if it means we have to get messy in the process. In Luke 9:1-2, Jesus sent out the twelve disciples in this way, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Jesus did not tell His disciples to sit inside the church building and pray for all of the lost and hurting to come find them and then heal them. No, my precious friend, He sent them out. Just as James said too, “Faith without works is dead.”
Jesus was so impressed with the plight of people that many of the New Testament Scriptures are devoted to His compassion for the crowds that followed Him and His disciples. However, none could be more compelling than Matthew 5:43-45. Jesus is speaking to a group and says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” This was truly a revelation for the people of Jesus’ time in trying to love even the unlovely.
So, the challenge comes back to us today. Are we going to be willing to get involved, even when it means we might get messy in return? Are we willing to step outside of our comfort zones when we see people in need – especially when those people have treated us badly in the past? My prayer for each one of us today is that we will look past the situations and see the people that God designed in His own image and be filled with compassion.
Pray with me: DearGod, You designed us for relationships. And Lord, sometimes we know that those relationships are going to get messy because they involve unrighteous, sinful people. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of You, and we long to be sharing Your love with a lost and dying world. Show us how to look past the messy situations that are surrounding us each and every day, and see the people in the middle of the circumstances. Fill us up with Your compassion as only You can do - compassion that surpasses all understanding, especially even for our enemies.
Lord, when we see the messes, give us the courage to get involved. We know that when we are in Your will, the blood of the Lamb will cleanse us white as snow again. God, we love You so very much and pray all of this in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who willingly shed that blood for us that we could be cleansed of all our sin! Amen!