VERSE:
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17
THOUGHT:
There’s a scene in the first Spiderman movie where Peter Parker’s uncle gives him the advice that will provide the motivation for Peter to become the web-slinging crime fighter. His uncle says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” While the statement is a clichéd device for driving the movie plot, there is a ring of truth to it for Christians.
James points out that the power of our faith carries a responsibility to practical action. It is not enough to pronounce a benediction on someone in need, we have to turn it into something tangible that will help relieve that need. William Booth, the Founder of The Salvation Army, recognized that he would have no right to, or success in, preaching the gospel, if he did not first fill the hungry stomach or clothe the naked back. We need to create a “living” faith by adding practical work to our belief.
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