God and I have been having an ongoing conversation lately about faith, works, judging others and how the way I live impacts the saving grace provided on the cross.
Most all of us can quote John 3:16-17. God loved us so much that He gave Christ to forgive our sins and make a way for us to live eternally in Heaven. All we have to do is believe in Jesus. Verse 17 says Christ didn't come to condemn the world but to save it. We are saved simply by believing in Christ and accepting Him as our personal Savior. Then, Christ Himself in John 12:47, says if anyone hears His words and does not believe He still will not judge us. He goes on to say that the very words we reject will be our judge when that time comes. If Christ does not judge then neither should I judge but then I read in the gospels that a tree is known by it's fruit. The good tree bears good fruit and the bad tree either bears no fruit at all or bad fruit that is good for nothing. I go on to read in Romans, Corinthians and the other epistles about fruit and works and building on Christ as our foundation. I read that faith without works is dead - that believing in and of itself is useless - and I have to pause and ask God to clarify this for me. James said even the demons believe there is but one God (and tremble!) but I'm certain there will be no redeemed demons in Heaven. So exactly what do Christ's words in the gospels and the disciples writings that follow really mean? What are those verses in John 3:16-17, John 12:47-48 and James chapter 2 supposed to convey to me? I needed God to paint me a picture because my little mind was just not processing this. In my heart I knew but my heart was failing miserably in explaining it to my mind.
This morning, as I was mindlessly sipping on my coffee, I noticed a couple of squirrels racing around our yard. They reminded me of a particular camping trip years ago where the trees shook as multiple squirrels ran from one to the other through the limbs above our tent. We jokingly said all the acorns they were shaking onto the tent would reduce it to a tarp by the week's end. We laughed about how the tarp would have been much easier to put up than our current housing had been (but I'm sure we provided some great entertainment for our camping neighbors as we struggled with our setup)! After much a-do we got the tent set up and our stuff settled inside. As I was grinning to myself about that camping week God began painting a picture for me of the scriptures I had been struggling with.
Faith and works are like camping in a tent. We lay the tent out and prepare to move in it. We stake it out and secure it. That is like believing in Christ and what He has done for us on the cross. However, in order to gain the full benefit and protection of that tent we must follow the instructions to set it up. We can throw all of our "stuff" in that tent before setup is complete. We can even crawl in there ourselves and have some protection from the rain and critters but without the work to set up and maintain that tent we really fall short of keeping its usefulness. When the real storms come our "stuff" will get wet right along with us. Eventually the water will puddle up on our tent and become stagnant. The tent will begin to stifle us making it difficult to function. In essence, even though we still possess a tent, it is only a tent in name. It no longer serves its purpose and becomes more like a leaky tarp than the shelter it was meant to be. When we follow the instructions the tent becomes a great place to enjoy life from.
Having painted that picture for me God clarified the verses I had been struggling with for so long. I know it's not a perfect picture because I don't have a perfect mind but it is a picture I can understand. That is how God works with me. That is how He will work with you as well. He knows our hearts and we can bring anything to Him - anything that we honestly want Him to explain to us. He is not offended by the honest, seeking heart. He is not afraid of getting dirty by our "unholiness". Even though our sins will separate us from God in eternity, He will not distance Himself from the true seeker today because He is truth and He recognizes the truth in us. Bring all of yourself to Him and I promise He will make all of Himself available to you...if you will just allow Him to!
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