Personal Faith

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“…Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
James 2:18

“My faith is personal to me.”

“My faith is just between me and God.”

“I’m not comfortable talking about my faith with other people.”

“I believe in God, I just don’t feel like I need to ‘wear my faith on my sleeve’, so to speak.”

Does any of this sound familiar to you?  Can you relate to any of these comments?  I was in this place for a long, long time.  

The Bible is pretty clear that we are saved by faith and not by works.  We can not “earn” our way into Heaven.  We will NEVER be “good enough” on our own.  It is ONLY through the blood of Christ, through our faith in HIM, and Him alone that we are saved and receive eternal life in Heaven.  That is 100%, absolutely, positively true!  And our faith IS personal to each one of us. 

So for a long time I didn’t worry about my actions too much (or, heaven forbid, sharing my faith with others).  I said all those things that I listed above.  I believed in God.  I believed in Jesus.  And I felt like I had a “personal” relationship with him.  And I thought that was enough.    

Then I read James.

James 2:19 says, “You believe in one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that – and shudder.”  Um, did James just compare me to a demon?  ‘Cause that’s kind of what it sounded like to me.

In verse 17 he says, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by actions, is dead.”  So I may not be a demon, I just have dead faith!  GREAT!  I thought this was about my faith NOT my works.  When did actions become so important?!?

Apparently, right around the time Christ took on my sin and died on the cross.  That was when actions become important.  

There were no Christians around when Christ died.  No one called themselves a Christian when asked what religion they were.  No one marked the box “Christian” in the local polls.  What there was, was a group of people who believed that the man Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God.  They had faith in Him and the words that He said.  A group of people who – by their actions – demonstrated this faith to the people around them.  Actions that spoke so loudly others called them Christ-like, Christ-ians, Christians.  People saw their ACTIONS and could tell what they BELIEVED.  Outsiders were able to visually see these Christians’ personal, private, faith through their actions.

It makes me wonder… can people “see” my faith through my actions?

I recently read a book that explained faith verses works this way.  It is your faith that saves you.  Your faith makes you a child of God and grants you entry into His Heavenly gates.  You get to go to the party and dance in the presence of the King!!!

But you will also have to answer for the life that you lived.  It is through “… works you can save your soul from a life that eternity will reveal was wasted.” (66 Love Letters by Dr. Larry Crabb).

I would hate to stand at the feet of my savior, and look back on my life and see that I wasted it.  That somehow I missed it.  That I missed what was TRULY important.

Dr. Crabb goes on to say (in the voice of God), “All My children will dance at My party and be blessed to the brim of their capacity for joy.  Only My faithful children will join My Son in leading the dance.”

Your faith is personal.  I know that.  I understand that.  Your faith WILL save you.  It is your entry into Heaven, where you will dance in the presence of the King!  But what if your actions here on Earth allowed you to lead that dance with Jesus right by your side? 

Wouldn’t that be kind of cool?

Comments

  1. Samantha Elizabeth says

    Beautiful Job Tami! You have a gift for writing and sharing God’s word. Thank you! This post really spoke to me, as I see it did to others. Sometimes things we read can make us uncomfortable…maybe because we don’t agree…or maybe because it is speaking truth to us…whatever it may be…its worth acknowledging! Thank you 🙂 xo

  2. Megan Smith-Griffin says

    I do believe in witnessing and sharing things God has done for you. But, at the same time, I do believe you don’t have to EVERYTHING out there (that’s why we have unspoken prayer requests & such, after all). If you are living the way He has directed you to, then your faith will shine through that!

    Love your post 🙂

    • Tami Lundgren says

      Glad you enjoyed the post! I agree your faith should shine through what you do, especially when you are living the way he directs you. I’m just not convinced I always am doing that. That is where the faith part comes in, I won’t always get it right, but His grace covers that! Thanks for your comment!

    • Megan Smith-Griffin says

      It’s hard to always live the way He wants: day to day life can become hectic and we lose focus. But, we do have our faith that helps us know He’s always there to help us get back on track 🙂 Thanks for your reply! God bless, xo

  3. Eniola Prentice says

    Its a very familiar argument. I don’t believe you have to talk about your faith every time but little actions of faith you take that may not even be public is important. I believe the action of faith is different for everyone though. I try not to be judgmental because the argument of having a “personal relationship and not having to wear our faith on our sleeves” sometimes sounds like one is ashamed of Christianity. The solution is not being loud and obnoxious about your faith but living your life like an epistle (an action), that people even without speaking to you will know that you are a Christian, that too me is a more compelling action than giving someone a tract.

    • Tami Lundgren says

      Thanks for your comment Eniola. I agree I don’t think we need to “talk about our faith” all the time. But I do think our actions always do “talk”. I think our actions talk louder than our words. My hope is that my actions are saying what I want them to say. I’m not sure they always do. It is something I have become much more cognizant of and intentional about in the last year or two. Thanks for stopping by the blog!

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