Active

“ You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works,” ~ James 2:22

“If you don’t use it, you lose it.” I don’t know where the quote originated, but I have seen it used in a variety of situations. It describes an exercise habit and the development and maintenance of muscle. If you don’t use your muscles, it you don’t practice fitness, you lose it. In learning we can talk about knowledge that we have taken in over a period of time. Knowledge that sits too long in the brain eventually becomes forgotten. If we don’t rehearse what we know, we lose the ability to call it up on request. While there are some skills that seem to stick with us forever, most of the time, when we don’t practice an action, or rehearse information, or use what we have, we lose it.

James talks about faith in the same sort of way. Faith is meant to be active. Faith is not merely a belief in the heart or an understanding in the head. It is also the activity of the hands. Our faith must be lived out in our relationships and actions. It must shape our schedules and our work. Faith is meant to be an active, daily, part of our lifestyle.

James sometimes sounds very work oriented, but don’t think for a moment that James encourages us to believe that we are saved by some sort of works-righteousness model. James knows that salvation is a gift from God. An open invitation for all to come and follow Him. James reminds us that when we give our lives to Jesus, we give our entire selves. Our hearts, and our hands. How we lie and what we do are all shaped by the call of Jesus. The way we work and the work we do are a direct reflection of what we believe and who we belong to. Walking with Jesus is an active pursuit.