REAL FAITH

"Miraculous!" ... "Revolutionary!" ... "Greatest ever!" We are inundated with a flood of extravagant claims as we flip the television dial or magazine pages. We are assured that these products are "new," "improved," "fantastic," and will change lives. For only a few rand we can have "cleaner clothes," "whiter teeth," "glamorous hair," "tastier food," happiness, friends and the good life. And just before an election, no one can match the politicians’ promises. But talk is cheap, and we soon realize that the boasts were hollow, quite far from the truth. Christians also make great claims, and are often guilty of belying them with their actions. Professing to trust God and to be His people, they cling tightly to the world and its values. Posses-sing all the right answers, they contradict the Gospel with their lives. Christianity must not only be believed, it must be lived. "You will be judged on whether or not you are doing what Christ wants you to...what’s the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others?...it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all - it is dead and useless" (James 2:12-17). The proof that our faith is real is a changed life!