"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" - Ephesians 2:10 (NIV).
As believers, one of our inescapable call is engaging in good works. The Apostle James had an occasion to expound on this, perhaps after observing some slackening by the brethren. "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? (James 2:14-19).
What James is here reminding us is our faith is not mere words, but the proof of it is seen in how we demonstrate it by meeting the needs of the body and even strangers around us. It is quite easy to find one who has all the words of faith but yet just as James notes, there are but empty. "If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom" (James 3:13).
One further motivation for engaging in good works is that good deeds also inspire the faith of those around us, as "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" ( Mathew 5:16). Hence, it is another way of evangelizing the Gospel of Christ.
It is a hallow faith where one proclaims all the faith in God but can't show it by way of good works. The Bible notes, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, may you teach us to demonstrate the faith we have in you through good works that glorify you and inspire faith in you, this I pray in Jesus's name.
Related upcoming events
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19/04/2024 - 20/04/2024 All day“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” ( Isaiah 43:19).
Just before fire was unleashed down on Sodom and Gommorah, Lot was told to pack up with his wife and two daughters and leave their homestead. Now, once out of danger, “But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” ( Gen 19:26). Perhaps here we might pause and ask why she was bothered to look back.
Of course it could have been that old “curiosity killed a cat” mistake! Yet, it could also have been Lot’s wife was not sure where she was going and longed for her old life back. This is a common error. There was nothing stirring to look back. Just before Lot’s neighbors had attacked his house eager to rape his visitors. “They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them” ( vv 5). Was there anything worth looking back to!
The case of Lot’s wife could be anyone else’s experience. The Lord has plucked you out of some mess. You have been delivered to a new life. Yet, somehow you decide to look back, as though there was anything good and worth longing for. Sometimes it is a bitter past you have been delivered from. Other than rejoice in your new blessings you keep being drawn back!
A wise caution goes, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” ( Proverbs 26:11). If the Lord has just led you out of a certain mess why look back like it was much better! Instead look ahead, for “he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” ( vv 17- 18).
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, I thank you for delivering me from the darkness of the past and I look forward to a bright new future in you, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
