by guest blogger Kimberly Covert
This past month, it
seems as though everywhere I look I am finding teachings about having an
"active faith". We've all read the passage in James 2:14-26 that
reminds us that "faith without works is dead". Sometimes this drives us
to trying to prove our faith through words and actions. However, our works can
be as simple and as natural as the way we live our lives. When we are communing
with God, works stemmed from faith come almost without conscious effort.
When I first heard
about Vintage Worship gathering, I was tired of meeting people who were good at
talking about their faith but not living it out. They had all the right words,
but were not showing enough of the Godly love I needed to make me care about what
they were saying. I took a chance, and followed up on the invitations of three
separate people before visiting the church. I must say I was shocked at what I
found.
In 2 Corinthians,
Paul describes us as a "letter of recommendation, written on our hearts,
to be known and read by all” (2 Corinthians 3:2 ESV). When people read into our
lives, they should see the words of our Lord. Despite spending nearly every
Sunday of my life within the wall of a church, I was finally seeing what The
Church could be. We can be a group of broken, welcoming people who share a love
for a Savior. That love unifies and invigorates us toward a better life.
So, how can we keep writing God’s
words on our hearts for all to see? It sounds beautiful; but if you’re like me,
you need to know how to take things from the theoretical to the practical.
One way is to start taking small steps to solve the big problems in our
world. We all wonder how we can help the homeless, and the concept of Blessing Bags is
the best idea I've ever seen as an immediate response.
Blessing Bags are basically
just gallon-sized Ziploc bags filled with helpful items such as granola bars,
hand wipes, a resource list, etc. You can keep these in your car to hand to
homeless people you encounter. This would make a wonderful group project for
our church. It's a perfect way for us to "love not only in word or talk
but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:17-18). I challenge you to be a letter
worthy of God's return address.
