Faith Sampel

Day 5 – Faith and action

Faith trains up and prepares acts, it is never inactive...

REFLECTIONS :

Read James 2:14-16 and John 9:6-11 and take a moment to answer the following questions:

➤ What is the part of faith that is only our responsibility and not God’s?

➤ In your opinion, why didn’t Jesus simply heal this blind person, but instead choose to make him a participant in his own miracle?

CONTENT:

Faith consists of bringing what has already been accomplished by God in the spiritual world and making it a reality in our world. As the letter to the Hebrews says, it is the assurance of things that we hope for, the demonstration of what we cannot see (cf. Hebrews 11:1) … Faith is not real unless it is accompanied by actions and a lifestyle. In other words, our faith is manifested through how we live. As such, faith is not a question of words, but actions. For example, a few years ago, when we were going through a difficult period financially and we were thinking about me taking on a part-time job in order to provide for our family’s needs, God clearly spoke to us and affirmed that our provision wasn’t to be found in secular work, but in Him (which meant that I was to continue investing my life 100% in what He had told me to do). We believed and proclaimed that word, and yet for a little while afterwards I continued looking for work… My behaviour demonstrated my lack of faith and I had to repent and change my way of thinking and working… And this allowed God to provide in an extraordinary way!

This is why James says that faith without works is dead. Faith is a concrete and practical obedience. It is for this reason that Jesus allowed this blind man to be active in his own miracle. In effect, the blind man didn’t ask for anything, he didn’t have the opportunity to put his faith into action like other people to whom Jesus had asked the question, “What do you want me to do?” The miracle is a partnership between man and God. We are called to put our faith into action to experience His miracle… If this man had not obeyed and had just wiped the mud from his eyes, he wouldn’t have received his sight. His eyes were opened because he put his faith in action by obeying the command to go and wash in the pool of Siloam (cf. John 9:11). It’s amazing that sometimes certain people seem to have a particular gift of twisting obedience while giving the impression of obeying… Jesus speaks, we believe and obey by acting in accordance with God’s Word…

Faith is an action, and so when you believe that God has healed you, you can simply start to do straightaway what you couldn’t do beforehand. All of the accounts in the Gospels and the book of Acts talk about an action that followed the faith of those who received a miracle from the Lord. The paralytic man had to get up, the blind man was called to Jesus and left behind the security of his possessions when he discarded his coat. When the water was changed into wine at Cana, the servants had to draw the water and then take it to the master of ceremonies. There are so many other examples… Obedience always accompanies the miracle because the miracle is the part of faith that only belongs to us. All of the rest is in the hands of God. However, obedience is our responsibility…

The most remarkable act of obedience in faith is certainly found in the life of the father of faith, Abraham… In Genesis 13:14-15, God promises him that he will possess an entire country and yet on his deathbed the only property that he owned in the eyes of man was a field and a cave where he was buried alongside his wife, Sarah (cf. Genesis 23:20 and 25:9). But in God’s eyes he had taken possession of the country (Ezekiel 33:24). How is that? Simply by wandering through the country from east to west, north to south. He put his faith in action knowing that wherever he set foot belonged to Him (cf. Joshua 1:3). And so, obedience to faith transforms our way of living a durable life, and this is independent from what we can see… To live by faith is not to live in accordance with what we can see or feel, but simply in relation to what God says!

Faith is an action, it leads us to adopt a way of living that says: LIFE IS SIMPLE, GOD SAYS AND I OBEY! What is God saying to you and are you going to obey in a radical way? That means without negotiating or compromise. When you do this, you will see your life transformed and the miracle will happen…

MY DECISION:

➤ What I have understood for my personal life:

➤ What I am deciding to do in my life based on what I have just learned:

➤ What you decide today determines who and what you will be tomorrow!

Adapted from "un disciple en marche" copyright 2018 by Luc Favre, published by Vie Victorieuse. All rights reserved.