What Are You Doing?

Jesus extends an invitation at the end of his most famous sermon. His invitation is unlike others you have likely heard. He doesn’t invite people to say a prayer or give their lives to him. What is his invitation? It is to act. It is to put his words into practice. The invitation is so important he gives it twice (Matt. 7:21, 24), and compares the person who embraces it to a wise man who builds his home on a solid foundation.

James, Jesus’s brother, also emphasizes living out our faith and putting Jesus’s principles into practice. He famously said, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). He illustrates this by telling a story about someone who lacks food and proper clothing. What will help this individual? It is not any words of blessing we may offer. Words will not fill the person’s stomach. The person in need is relying on us to act.

We live in a culture of words. We have 24-hour news channels where people speaking never stops. We have talk radio where hosts vying for attention fill hours of radio time with many words. Social media is a constant stream of takes and opinions that never ceases. We live in a world filled with commentary on every sports event, celebrity sighting, political decision, and news story. We are not lacking in words. A person could spend every waking hour listening to and posting words on the internet, and some do.

There is nothing wrong with having an opinion, but must we have an opinion about everything? There is certainly nothing wrong with stating our beliefs, but what are we doing about the matter? The wisdom of James still applies. Our gripes and complaints likely do little or nothing. They get lost in the overwhelming myriad of words launched into the Universe each day. However, actions matter. We can do something to make the world a better place.

Jesus’ invitation is just as relevant today as it ever was. We live in a broken world and we can talk about it all day long, but what are we doing? What are we doing to help people who are hurting? What are we doing to feed the hungry? What are we doing to help students in our commu- nity who may be struggling? What are we doing to assist the single mother who is struggling to get by? What are we doing to address the problems in our community?

A lot of time and energy is spent discussing the problems in Washington. I get it. It’s frustrating. However, if Jesus were to return tomorrow, I don’t believe he would ask us our thoughts on the economy, foreign policy, or national security. I believe he would ask about the invitation he gave on a hillside 2,000 years ago. What are you doing? What are you doing to make a difference in this community?

We are blessed to live in La Grange. Let’s pay attention to the words of Jesus and work together to do his will and make this an even better place to live.