James had been going to church forever. Not only was he raised in church, but he was the son of a pastor. As such, he sang in the choir, played the piano, attended bible study every Wednesday evening, church every Sunday, rehearsal every Thursday, and coordinated the men's fellowship every other Saturday. "Phew!" James did a lot and often felt good about his contributions to the house of God, after all this proved that he loved God, right?
Well what James failed to examine was his own ways in relation to God. Yes he engaged in several church activities but on the inside he was full of lust, pride, and anger. He never apologized when he hurt his brother or sister in Christ because after all he was the pastor's son and who was he to apologize: pride. He chased after all the women in the church until he got what he wanted and discarded them: lust. He never took advice and blew up if anyone tried to offer any: anger. To the naked eye, James clearly was involved in church, but was he in a relationship with Christ?
In hindsight we may see all of James' works and think: wow he's really serious about serving God, but if we were to take a closer look at what was really in his heart, we'd see that James' relationship with Christ was damaged and needed major repair. James had gotten so use to his routine that he had lost touch with his purpose in serving God: to spread His love and walk in His path.
Sometimes as believers we too can lose our way when we focus on working instead of worshiping. 2 Timothy 3:5 reminds us that we can have a form of godliness but deny the power of Christ within. In other words we can look the part of a Christian but be so far removed from His grace. God's word assures us that we are saved by grace through faith and not of our own works, so while works will follow our faith, it is not contingent on establishing a long-lasting relationship with Him.
God judges the heart and not the action of a man, as He is looking for those who are pure in heart and who desire to ever increase their knowledge and understanding of Him. Relationships are cultivated by spending time and getting to know someone not by doing things and never bothering to find out if it's pleasing to the individual. So today let us spend time with the One and make sure all our ways please Him alone as we continue to build our relationship and not religion with Him.
Well what James failed to examine was his own ways in relation to God. Yes he engaged in several church activities but on the inside he was full of lust, pride, and anger. He never apologized when he hurt his brother or sister in Christ because after all he was the pastor's son and who was he to apologize: pride. He chased after all the women in the church until he got what he wanted and discarded them: lust. He never took advice and blew up if anyone tried to offer any: anger. To the naked eye, James clearly was involved in church, but was he in a relationship with Christ?
In hindsight we may see all of James' works and think: wow he's really serious about serving God, but if we were to take a closer look at what was really in his heart, we'd see that James' relationship with Christ was damaged and needed major repair. James had gotten so use to his routine that he had lost touch with his purpose in serving God: to spread His love and walk in His path.
Sometimes as believers we too can lose our way when we focus on working instead of worshiping. 2 Timothy 3:5 reminds us that we can have a form of godliness but deny the power of Christ within. In other words we can look the part of a Christian but be so far removed from His grace. God's word assures us that we are saved by grace through faith and not of our own works, so while works will follow our faith, it is not contingent on establishing a long-lasting relationship with Him.
God judges the heart and not the action of a man, as He is looking for those who are pure in heart and who desire to ever increase their knowledge and understanding of Him. Relationships are cultivated by spending time and getting to know someone not by doing things and never bothering to find out if it's pleasing to the individual. So today let us spend time with the One and make sure all our ways please Him alone as we continue to build our relationship and not religion with Him.
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