The preacher on Sunday had talked about how we will be judged not by our faith but by our works. The Bible does say over and over that we will be judged according to what we do in this life, but I was a little concerned that he didn’t emphasize the fact that we’re saved by grace. So I looked at Ephesians 2:8-9 with my girls, to make sure they understand this foundational truth. We’re working on memorizing it in French and Lingala:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
But we also held up this truth in relation to what James has to say:
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:14, 17Unintentionally on my part, this teaching went incredibly well with what we were experiencing as a group. On Sunday we had gone to the orphanage for my girls’ first visit there. I’d had to leave early, but the girls ended up staying quite late and apparently the kids begged them not to leave even then. They played and played and then had a really great praise and worship time together. The girls were so excited to report to me how well it had gone, how the kids loved them, how God really came and did a work in their midst.
We often hear “faith without deeds is dead,” but what about faith WITH deeds? It’s so alive! After having spent themselves in service at the orphanage, I could see my girls’ faith just bursting with life. Nothing better than knowing you’ve done something for someone else and feeling the Spirit of the Lord work through you. So satisfying, so life-giving.
1 comment:
J-Le, this is great! It's SO fulfilling when we get a chance to see that we're influencing lives that are influencing other lives for good & God's glory!
Post a Comment