SCRIPTURE
“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." James 2:21-23
OBSERVATION
A living faith is a faith of action. Abraham believed in God. Yet, it wasn't until he did something that his faith was made complete. Abraham got to the very point of raising his knife to sacrifice Isaac...it was there that God now believed in Abraham. The challenge isn't in having faith but it is having a faith of action. Abraham was willing to risk everything to show that he believed God. An incomplete faith would be a faith that just believes with no action. Or action that just works without faith. God is looking for people who trust Him enough to do what He says.
APPLICATION
It's easy to reduce "faith" to a set of intellectual beliefs. I keep it in my head and go on with my own life. For my faith to be complete I need to act on what I know. The Bible is full of action words (love, give, obey, forgive, repent, honor, confess, follow). Believing in them is not enough. For my faith to be complete I need to act. In my head I can know a lot of truths. I can believe a lot of things. But the rubber hits the road when I act. Action is the test of my faith. Do I really believe it enough to do it? If I don't do it, do I really believe it? My faith and actions work together like tires on a bicycle. Without one or the other I'm not going anywhere.
PRAYER
Lord, I want to have a faith of action. I want, like Abraham, to be called your friend because I'm willing to do what I believe. Amen.
