James 2:14-26

Please take a moment and read this week’s entire passage!

I mentioned last week that most of the memories I have of my grandma are of her in the kitchen. Add to that: most of the memories I have of my grandpa are of him in the garden. After my grandma passed away, we moved in with grandpa, and I spent a big part of my childhood there. Each spring, we helped grandpa prep the garden soil, plant the seeds, pull the weeds, and harvest the vegetables. I learned quickly that gardening is backbreaking work, but the harvest is well worth the effort. 

As everything from the garden was harvested, the kids were enlisted to snap beans and shuck corn, and my mom and her sisters would get to work in the kitchen. Canning and preserving the summer’s bounty for use in winter months was an important job, because what good is all the food grown if you don’t eat it? Not to mention the time invested before the harvest: what about the sweaty job of cultivating the ground and the backbreaking work of pulling weeds?

What good are veggies left to rot where they grow? “Spoiler” alert: no good. 

I suppose some goodness is available to nearby animals who might benefit from a nibble or two as they’re passing through, but is that the real purpose in growing a garden? To feed the neighborhood rabbits and deer? Of course not! The purpose of my grandpa’s garden was to supply his family with vegetables over the winter.

What good is our faith if left to rot where it grows? “Spoiler” alert: no good.

Doing the work to form a firm foundation and cultivate our faith is important, no doubt about it! But if that faith never leaves the four walls of the church or ventures outside our homes...what good is it? I suppose there is some goodness in that our faith could bless those in immediate proximity to us, but is that the real purpose of cultivating mature faith? Of course not! The purpose of our faith is to take action, to help, and to do good in our communities in Jesus’ name.

Faith without deeds is dead (2:17), just as a tomato left on the vine will rot and die unless picked. The entire book of James gives us practical ways we can integrate our faith into daily living. Ask God to show you one way you can put your faith into action today.