Believing or Practicing

Believing or Practicing?

Imagine that you are in the hospital and you have just found out that you have appendicitis and need surgery. Soon, a man walks in and tells you he is going to perform the surgery. He then tells you that he has never performed surgery, but he “believes” he can do it because he has talked about surgery a lot. Would you trust this man to take out your appendix or would you rather have a practicing surgeon instead?

Let’s think of this in terms of your spiritual life. Are you believing or practicing? Many of us say that we believe, but how many of us are truly “practicing” Christians? To be a follower of Christ, we have to do more than just believe in Him, don’t we? We can say we believe in Jesus and then still lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, etc. That doesn’t make us a true follower of Him. To be a true follower of Jesus we have to actually act out these beliefs by loving one another, praying, reading the Bible, and listening for the Lord’s voice in our lives. No, you may not hear Him speaking loud and clear, but if you are actively conversing with Him, you will hear what He is trying to say. 

Another aspect of this idea is how our actions prove our love for Christ. Let’s take forgiveness. Many of us talk about how Christ can forgive sins, but are we practicing this? Look at your life – are you actively trying to reach out to sinners and show them the Way? Have you forgiven those in your life who have hurt you? We can talk about forgiveness, but unless we are in the trenches where the sinners are, offering them a hand up, and letting them know that forgiveness is right in front of them, then we are merely “believers” and not putting our Christianity into practice. 

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18