Show and tell

Sarah Habben

Did you ever show up at kindergarten without an object for show-and-tell and decide to just do the “tell” part? Your classmates got fidgety fast over your lengthy description of an absent item.

God isn’t fooled when his people are all tell and no show. Nor is he pleased. He warns us in James 2:17, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” God takes no more pleasure in a deedless faith than we would take in a dead body slumped on our couch.

Such a faith is no witness either. If our works don’t match our words, we won’t have any more impact on our neighbor than a dead battery has on a cell phone. What good is our Sunday confession that God so loves the world if on Monday we refuse to show love to the “slacker” in our office? What good is our mealtime confession that God provides all our needs if by bedtime we are losing sleep over our investments? Such a faith is not only no good; it is dead.

Thanks be to God! He loves us despite our flaccid faith and timid deeds. The proof of his love is found in his Son. Jesus—whose words and actions were in perfect sync from his cradle to his cross. Jesus—who not only spoke forgiveness but gave his life to win it. Jesus—who enlivens our faith with his love.

Now that’s something to tell—and show—the world.

Devotional used by permission of Time of Grace®. For more information, visit www.timeofgrace.org