A lesson I hope my husband and I are teaching our boys is to show love, not only to say it. The words "I love you" can give a warm fuzzy feeling momentarily, but, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
For the purposes of this post, "works" refers to the byproducts of our faith – the fruit of the spirit. For example, charity, hospitality, loving kindness, etc.
"Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, 'You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'… But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?… You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone…. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."
Works. The fruit of the spirit. Without them, our faith is useless, meaningless, dead.
~Galatians 5:22-23"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
"So then, you will know them by their fruits."~Matthew 7:20
On my iPod is the song More Than Words by Extreme. Each time I listen, it catches my attention. It's
a secular song, but listening closely to the lyrics, it strikes me
that if God had a theme song, this could very well be it. I
don't mean to make a trifle out of God by any means, but this song,
when viewed through the eyes of faith, speaks the heart of the message –
that there's more to our relationship with Christ than just saying with
our mouths that we love Him. He also wants us to show Him our love for Him through our works.
What would you do if my heart was torn in two
What would you do if my heart was torn in two
More Than Words: by Extreme
Saying I love you
Is not the words I want to hear from you
It's not that I want you
Not to say it, but if you only knew
How easy it would be to show me how you feel
More than words is all you have to do to make it real
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know.
What would you do if my heart was torn in two
More than words to show you feel
That your love for me is real
What would you say if I took those words away
Then you couldn't make things new
Just by saying I love you.
More than words.
Now I've tried to talk to you and make you understand
All you have to do is close your eyes
And just reach out your hands and touch me
Hold me close don't ever let me go
More than words is all I ever needed you to show
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me
'Cause I'd already know.
What would you do if my heart was torn in two
More than words to show you feel
That your love for me is real
What would you say if I took those words away
Then you couldn't make things new
Just by saying I love you.
More than words.
In what ways do you show your love for others and for God, beyond mere words?
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