Faith in Action

During this time of waiting precipitated by COVID-19, Pastor Bob challenges us to live out the gospel by finding the right mix of faith and practical works to make an explosive impact on our world.

Most of us know the story about the day that started as an ordinary teaching session between Jesus and his disciples but turned into a mega-event hosting an audience of over 5,000. Jesus had compassion on the crowd, talking to them until day stretched into evening and everyone started getting hungry. In what we have come to know as the miracle of feeding the five thousand, Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes to satisfy the throng that day. What’s intriguing, though, is what happens the next day.

That night, Jesus and his disciples sail across the Sea of Galilee and dock at another port. The next morning, the people whom he had fed wonder where he’s gone, ask around, and end up tracking him to the other shore.

“How’d you get here?” they ask. Jesus reveals that he knows what is in their hearts by basically telling them they followed him because he put food in their bellies. As they continue dialoguing, Jesus reminds them that he said he was the bread of life and would give them spiritual food. The people refer back to the manna Moses gave them, and say that if Jesus feeds them from this day on, they will follow him.

Whereas this crowd linked the authenticity of Jesus with his ability to feed them, Jesus links faith and good works. He calls us to exercise faith, but he also calls us to go and do – to make, to create, to somehow bring redemption to this world. There is an interesting mix between faith and works that is particularly relevant during this time of world-wide pandemic. How is that mix playing out in our lives? While we may be waiting patiently for God to move and bring healing to our land, are we at the same time out in the world doing what God has called us to do to the best of our abilities? This is not the time to binge-watch Netflix and isolate ourselves from our community – this is the time for us to mix our faith and our practice.

This is not the time to binge-watch Netflix and isolate ourselves from our community – this is the time for us to mix our faith and our practice.

This truth can be illustrated with the concept of explosion. Although we commonly associate explosions with the blowing up of matter, they usually begin with a mix of a flammable gas and oxygen to which is added some energy – but it has to be the right mix. Simple experiments can generate small explosions inside a container by using fuel like hairspray or alcohol and then igniting the mixture. You can pop the top off the container or observe a “whoosh” of fire inside a clear chamber. In short, the right combination of oxygen/fuel/energy yields explosive results that can perform some valuable work. Cars, in fact, operate by tiny explosions that force pistons to go up and down, literally making the wheels go round and round.

If you liken the science behind explosion to the story of the people who were looking for someone to meet their physical needs, it becomes clear that God has called us to link, or mix, faith and practical works. As we wait through this COVID season, how we spend our time is really important. In the Bible, James says that he will show his faith by what he does. This is a time for us to go and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ to the best of our abilities, to find unique ways of doing that, to mix our faith together with the works God has called us to do. Who knows what God can accomplish when one person decides that they are going to radically give everything they’ve got to this gospel message in such a time as this?