What Are You Doing About Jesus?

It’s AUGUST! Where has this year gone? Oh, yeah…to the coronavirus, politics, media, blah, blah, blah. At least that’s if you’ve let all the negative consume your life. I hope that’s not the case. Because Jesus is on the move! He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And that is some dang good news! It’s the only life-giving news out there.

But what are you doing about it? 

So What.

You believe in God? So what. How has He changed you? What has a relationship with God led you to do? James 2:19 tells us: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” James is saying simply believing in God is no different from the demons. Verses 17 and 18 explain: “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Faith & Works

Our believing (faith) should produce fruit (works). And not the fruit of our flesh or our old lives, but the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These will only come by an intentional daily pursuit of God. And this cannot happen without the Spirit to guide us.

Pursuing God and getting to know Him more and more, with the help of His Spirit, will change us (hence the name: born again Christian). That’s because as we get closer to God, we get closer to love. His love changes us. And He will give us new desires, if we surrender to Him and let go of our lives and the things we love in this world. Those new desires will lead our hearts to pour out God’s love to others. We are God’s hands and feet to spread His love to the world. But that means doing something.

How Are You Different From Demons?

This question is quite offensive and convicting. But it is a question that needs to be asked. When our faith is combined with works, the answer to this question should be love. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40). 1 John 4:19-21 takes it a step further: “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

What does this look like? Well, I’ll let 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 explain: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Love Like Jesus

And we can look to Jesus as our example of living this out. He had every right to let mankind suffer and die for our sins, but He chose to lay down His life for you and me. Jesus didn’t do this with any conditions set. He sacrificed Himself for us because that’s who He is. He is love. And He loves unconditionally. He didn’t go to the cross for people who have their lives all “put together.” He saw His creation (His children) broken, lost, and hurting. And He chose to step down from heaven and save us out of His perfect love.

What Now?

So, what are you going to do about Jesus? Just believing in Him is no different from the demons but believing and following Him sets us apart. Jesus’ love should make us want more of Him. And as we get more of Him, His love should spread through us to others and point them to Him. This includes people with different beliefs, backgrounds, race, social status, politics, sports teams, and so on. We are called to love all. Loving our neighbor means loving everyone, including our enemies. And this love makes us different from the demons.

Choose today to go out into the world, not only believing in God, but, with His Spirit’s help and Jesus’ example, loving your neighbor like God loves you and me. Your faith and trust in who God is should only lead you to love God and others more. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).