Good afternoon, friends. This is Pastor Don on a beautiful Thursday afternoon. Last Sunday I talked about being “Blessed in the Doing.” It was about working out your faith in your actions and service. And for me the phrase “working out” is quite intentional. It’s one thing to decide what it is that you believe or whether or not Jesus is worthy to be a model for your living. It is quite another to start from those belief points and WORK OUT your faith. Work it out into practical DOING. That is putting some hands and feet to your religion.
Jesus was very good at that! He seemed to do a good bit more working out of his religion than he did figuring out what he believed! Everywhere he went he was helping people – the poor, the stranger, the outcast, the diseased, and those on the margins of society. It would be interesting to tally up what percent of your good deeds are directed toward those people. It’s just another way of determining whether or not we are satisfied to BELIEVE in Jesus or whether we actually are ready to FOLLOW him.
I know that many of you who hear this One Call are out there on the front lines serving and caring for those on the edges. It is the work of Jesus! Mother Theresa once said: “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” And I am sure she would have added that just a smile is sometimes as important as food and clothing.
LET’S PRAY: Loving God, you have given so much to us. We mean to give to your children just like you would give if you were in our shoes. Amen
