The Thing that Counts

Those who identify themselves as followers of Christ are often confronted with challenges to their faith. They are challenged by those who do not express faith in Christ, but in all likelihood their greatest challenges come from those who say they are fellow disciples of Jesus. Such an experience is not new among bodies of Christians. Such challenges to faith were experienced in the ministries of the churches named in the New Testament. The nature of human beings is to struggle in their flesh with their weakness and fears and to often be less than faithful in their responses as believers.

Where our difficulties arise is in the capacity of the strong and the weak, the faithful and the less than faithful, the bold and the timid, the sick and the healthy to comprehend that what matters is not our commitment to demand or require all of our brothers and sisters in faith to think, act, understand, and respond to every matter in the same way as we ourselves, but to look to Jesus, “the author and the finisher of our faith,” as our “measure” of who we are and where we are and what we are doing and saying and thinking. Christ has come to save us from our sins, and until we acknowledge our sin before him, and desire to be obedient unto His Lordship, we will likely plod along in manner of the blind leading the blind. Jesus came to give us sight. Jesus came to bring us light. Jesus came to remind us to fear not. Jesus came to confront us with truth, even when it hurts, and he challenges us to stand with him…taking up our own cross and following him.

Then we will do as Paul suggested to the church at Galatia, we will recognize that the only thing that counts is “faith working through love.” That faith, made effective by the love of Christ is that which we are called to demonstrate by our witness of action and attitude. It is not the confession of self-centered infantile personalities, it is the mark of the salvation of God upon those whom he loves and brought out of darkness into the light of His grace and mercy. In that light we live. In that light we celebrate in joy our service in the name of Jesus. If you cannot attach Jesus’ actions and attitudes to your own, step back, and think … am I a Jesus follower or not? Examine your heart and remember…faith will be working…through love.