Mar 05

There will always be division over Jesus and his words. As was seen in the reaction of the Jewish leaders over his words, some said that he was in league with the devil, but others were not so sure.

"But others said, 'These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?'" (John 10:21).

Here we see that where the force of words fail, the power of God's love demonstrated to others can succeed. No wonder that God so forcefully reminds us of this when he speaks to us through his servant James:

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).

John concurs, for he says, "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18).

When asked about who Jesus was, the disciples on the road to Emmaus described Jesus as one who was "powerful in word and deed before God and all the people" (Luke 24:19).

The world is watching us and waiting to see some sign that our words, which we claim come from God, are backed up by deeds that demonstrate the truth of those words. That is why John tells us to love with "actions and in truth". The two must go together or the world will pay no attention to what we say.

There is a saying, "Your deeds speak so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying." Or, put another way in a another common saying, "Actions speak louder than words." Yet another way of saying the same thing is, "They won't care what you know until they know that you care."

Scripture for today: 1 Cor. 2:13; 1 John 3:18
Thought for today: My actions towards others must illustrate the truth of what I say to them.
Prayer for today: Lord, help me to love others and speak your word of truth to them in love and truth.

MAR 05