James 2, Faith and Deeds

James 2:14-26
Faith and Deeds

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But some will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me  your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one god. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that this 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. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

It is very important to me to show my faith through what I do and say, even when I am not directly speaking about God. I try my best to show his light at school, when I teach, in band, at work, and in everything else I do.

One thing our team leader in Swaziland told us was that we were being Jesus to these kids for the week. I was shocked when I first heard the words leave his mouth. That's really bold, isn't it? To claim to be the Messiah? But as the time went on and I interacted with the kids, I began to see what Scott meant. We were being the physical hands and feet of Jesus - serving and loving the Swazis the way he would have if he were on earth right now. We were showing them ultimate respect and love by obeying what God was telling us to do.

When people see me, I don't want them to see Rachel. I want them to see God's light shown through me. They may not remember me or my name or maybe even what I did, but I want them to remember Christ and what he did for us.