Fluff and..... Fluff and..... Fluff and Fold

Secret's out, I don't always get my laundry folded right away. Ok, I never get my laundry folded right away. It's a flaw in me that drives my hubby batty. I fluff and re-fluff and re-fluff, with every intention of getting it folded, but most of the time I don't get it done until there is a clothing emergency and we can't find what we are looking for because it's in the dryer waiting to be folded. By now I am sure you have all figured out that I strongly dislike doing laundry. Actually it's not doing laundry that I dislike, it's what I have to do with it once it's clean that I don't like at all.

All of this laundry talk makes me wonder if this is how we treat our walk with God. We don't mind all the fluff. I'll be the first to admit it, I love the fluff! We want go to church and hear a warm, fuzzy message about how God still loves us despite our short commings, receive a reassuring pat on the back that everything is A OK and go about our merry little way. Only it doesn't end there. There is so much more to it than that. James 2:14-25 says it best.

"What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds." You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works."

Being a true Christ-follower requires more than simply saying "Yeah, I'm a believer." It requires you to seek His face, talk to Him, get to know Him through His Word, listen to what He is telling you and then go and tell others about Him. Sitting around waiting for the work to be done for you is no longer satisfactory. Don't delay, do it today!. Make your faith known, not just by what you say but also by what you do.

~Kazia~