Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. – James 2:15-17
Let’s imagine we have a friend who calls himself a musician. He is constantly talking about music. He goes to concerts almost every week and frequently reads magazines and articles explaining how to be a great musician. But, even after years of knowing him, we’ve never actually seen him play an instrument. We may really start questioning if he is a musician at all. Though he knows all about music and enjoys listening to other people play, he wouldn’t really be defined as a musician because he does not play an instrument himself.
This is the trap that many of us fall into as we call ourselves Christ followers. We are constantly learning more about God by going to church, listening to sermons, and reading our Bibles. But if we never actually do what Christ did, then how will people know that we are actually His followers? In order to live on mission for Christ, we have to get past mere talk and knowledge, and be moved to action. We can’t say we love the lost or care for the poor, but then do nothing about it.
Research: Who’s Helping?
Today, we want you to start researching how the needs you learned about yesterday are being met. Look at the list of needs you made yesterday and pick the one that you feel most passionate about helping to meet. Next, choose a place where that pain is particularly prevalent. Maybe you feel strongly about poverty in Asia, education funding in your state, or people who don’t have enough food in your own city. Whatever you choose, your next step is to research organizations that are helping people affected by that issue. Find as many organizations as you can. What do they do? How do they help people? Make another list, this time of the top three organizations you would be interested in working with.
Activity: Be the Hands and Feet
As we talked about in today’s reading, it’s essential that we live out our faith; practically helping others rather than just talking about how others should be helped. To practice that today, we want you to make little care packages for people experiencing homelessness in your community and then hand them out. Make sure to do this as a family or at least with more than one person, for safety. Take a look at this website to help you figure out what you want to put in your care packages. Pray over each package, and ask the person you’re giving the package to if they would be interested in letting you pray for them. It’s okay if they say no! You can still pray for them on your own time. These people are going through some of the most difficult situations a person can face; as you bring them before God, allow Him to open your heart and make it soft towards people in need.