It's All Talk

Observe the Homo wishiwashius evangelicus in his natural habitat.

He leans forward earnestly, shuts his eyes for three seconds, sighs, then leans back again. After repeating these motions several times in various scrambled orders, he speaks.

“I just have to say this because my heart is about to burst. You know, sometimes I wake up in the morning and I just… I just feel him. Like the sunlight is kissing my eyelids and I know it’s Jesus saying, ‘Good morning, beloved.’ And I can’t even explain it — it’s just there, this warm, cozy, melty kind of love that wraps around me like a blanket fresh out of the dryer.”

For several long minutes, he waxes eloquent about his daily ‘Hugs from Heaven’, or ‘Snuggles in the Spirit’. I’ll spare you the gory details.

This lad, whom we have all met — we’ll call him Trevor for ease of reference — talks a lot about his faith. Everyone knows just how close he is to Jesus because he tells them. What’s more, he really looks the part. Trevor’s hair is exactly the length at which it can be either “man of God” or “indie coffeehouse poet,” depending on the humidity. His jeans are just distressed enough to say, “I care about fashion,” but not so much that anyone could accuse him of vanity.

Trevor, you see, doesn’t just believe in Jesus. Trevor feels Jesus. Deeply. Profoundly. Visibly. And he’ll make sure you know it, too.

But when was the last time Trevor’s faith did anything but talk? Oh, and play bass?

“What use is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14)

When was the last time Trevor’s faith cost him anything?

Obedience is expensive. It empties the pockets, scours the heart, drains the eyes, and fills the space with joy — the sort of exhausting joy that earns a Lord’s Day of rest.

If you are a true Christian, your faith will cost you. That is not optional. True, it will not look the same for everyone — some must give up family; others, jobs; others, reputation; others, comfort; others, long-held dreams; others, the approval of friends. Sometimes it will look glamorous and martyr-like. Sometimes it will look like turning up to church in joy. Sometimes it will look like a quiet, firm decision made in the dingy backstreets of a weary heart.

But for each, the cost is real. And the cost hurts. If it doesn’t, it isn’t a cost.

Christians do not stagnate. They do things. They grow. They move. They build. Not to prove their faith, but because of their faith — because the love that bled for them now burns within them, driving their hands, their feet, their voices. They cannot help it. The living root always pushes up through the soil and bears fruit.

“You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:16-21)