“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him or her ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed’ and does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Have you ever taken the time to notice how well represented the Christian churches are in a wide range of social welfare programs aiming to meet all kinds of diverse needs across our society? Passages like this one from James make it so crystal clear that God expects us to put our love and compassion, gifts that He gives so freely to us by His Spirit, to good use in the world so that others may come to see, and more importantly, to experience the love of Christ applied to the often desperate needs and circumstances of life. Historically at Ashfield Baptist, this expectation has inspired the growth of our aged care and childcare ministries as well as our involvement in social justice programs across many spheres of life. But how different is our Christian model of care! Not for us is to work for our salvation by piling up a stockpile of good deed points. Our salvation is already assured, despite what we are or do. God’s grace is given to us. We have received it. And that is why we want to share ourselves with others. What we do is a consequence of our relationship with God, not a means to enter into the relationship in the first place. May the Lord help us to clearly see and understand that truth.