ODJ: prepare for action
April 19, 2011
Let us show the truth by our actions (v.18).
READ: 1 John 3:11-24
As a chaplain for athletes competing in the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, one night I stayed out particularly late serving at the figure skating venue. Cold and exhausted, I finally headed back to my room at 1:00 a.m. On the way, I was shocked when several members of the USA Men’s Hockey Team walked by—boasting about the partying they were about to engage in.
Their “good times” in Nagano were short-lived, however. For just one day later, the team that was a medal favorite lost in an early round and ultimately finished an unthinkable sixth overall.
God’s Word teaches that “just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matthew 7:20). For the team mentioned above, the actions of some partying hockey players brought criticism upon themselves, their teammates, and their country. “Their lasting legacy of the Nagano Olympics,” wrote freelance hockey journalist Joe Pelletier, “was a trashed hotel room courtesy of a few unnamed players.”
To achieve success, an athlete’s skills must be backed by a disciplined lifestyle. Similarly, to bring glory to Jesus, a believer’s faith and actions should work together. It is actions that make “faith complete” (James 2:22).
“Our actions,” wrote the apostle John, “will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God” (1 John 3:19). This idea was lived out by Rahab the prostitute, who was “shown to be right with God when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road” (James 2:25).
When our actions reflect our faith in Christ, we’re more likely to draw people to God than by words alone (James 2:14). Let’s truly display our faith by the things we do and say (1 John 3:18). —Roxanne Robbins
What is one behavior you can change to better reveal the faith that you proclaim? How did Jesus model a faith that was reflected in both words and actions?
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