Barrier or Bridge
James the half brother of Jesus said,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
I once heard a preacher yelling from the pulpit accusing people on social assistance as being “lazy bums”. I couldn’t believe I was hearing it from someone calling himself a man of God.
I admit there are people on social assistance that should not be.
By the same token I know there are many men and women calling themselves men and women of God, preaching from the pulpit that are scamming people. Men and women who are not truly believers in Christ.
Harper Lee in her book To Kill a Mockingbird noted,
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)...” Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Sadly it is true. The preacher I heard calling those on social assistance lazy will not win one person to the Lord. If anything that person will push them away from God.
Most of the people who are on social assistance are truly in need as are the mentally ill drug addicts and alcoholics are also in need. And we as believers in Christ need to be reaching out to them.
The apostle Paul said,
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1.
As Christians we need to have the kind of love Jesus showed, unconditional love.
We do not know what is in the hearts and minds of a person. We do not know what caused a person to be in the circumstances they are in. However we can help them. Sometimes it’s as simple as feeding them. Other times it might be by getting them to a place they can get help for their addiction or simply into a safe injection sight.
Doing this builds bridges between those in need and God.
The way I see it if you claim to be a believer in Jesus, you are either a bridge or a barrier.
I live in a city with a canal running through it. Periodically the bridges go up to allow ships to pass by. What was the roadway allowing safe passage for all, becomes a huge concrete and steel barriers, preventing all surface traffic from reaching the other side.
You are such a bridge. You can choose to be in the up position and prevent people from coming into contact with Christ. Or you can be in the lowered position allowing all who wish to pass safely over.
You do this through your words and deeds. It is through your words and deeds that people will see Christ. They can either be a barrier or a bridge. It is something all who believe in Christ must be aware of.
As Francis of Assisi said,
So are you a barrier or a bridge?
Please think about it.
James the half brother of Jesus said,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
I once heard a preacher yelling from the pulpit accusing people on social assistance as being “lazy bums”. I couldn’t believe I was hearing it from someone calling himself a man of God.
I admit there are people on social assistance that should not be.
By the same token I know there are many men and women calling themselves men and women of God, preaching from the pulpit that are scamming people. Men and women who are not truly believers in Christ.
Harper Lee in her book To Kill a Mockingbird noted,
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)...” Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Sadly it is true. The preacher I heard calling those on social assistance lazy will not win one person to the Lord. If anything that person will push them away from God.
Most of the people who are on social assistance are truly in need as are the mentally ill drug addicts and alcoholics are also in need. And we as believers in Christ need to be reaching out to them.
The apostle Paul said,
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1.
As Christians we need to have the kind of love Jesus showed, unconditional love.
We do not know what is in the hearts and minds of a person. We do not know what caused a person to be in the circumstances they are in. However we can help them. Sometimes it’s as simple as feeding them. Other times it might be by getting them to a place they can get help for their addiction or simply into a safe injection sight.
Doing this builds bridges between those in need and God.
The way I see it if you claim to be a believer in Jesus, you are either a bridge or a barrier.
I live in a city with a canal running through it. Periodically the bridges go up to allow ships to pass by. What was the roadway allowing safe passage for all, becomes a huge concrete and steel barriers, preventing all surface traffic from reaching the other side.
You are such a bridge. You can choose to be in the up position and prevent people from coming into contact with Christ. Or you can be in the lowered position allowing all who wish to pass safely over.
You do this through your words and deeds. It is through your words and deeds that people will see Christ. They can either be a barrier or a bridge. It is something all who believe in Christ must be aware of.
As Francis of Assisi said,
“The deeds you do
may be the only sermon
some persons will hear today”
Francis of Assisi.So are you a barrier or a bridge?
Please think about it.
