The Hermit

Dear Friends,

In 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) we read, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

In Romans, we are told, “If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.  If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” Romans 12:7-8

Jesus set a high bar for us, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

In the Book of James, we learn that we show our faith when we help others. Works are evidence of our faith.

“Dear brothers, what’s the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren’t proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone? If you have a friend who is in need of food and clothing, and you say to him, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat hearty,” and then don’t give him clothes or food, what good does that do? So you see, 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 2:14-17 (The Living Bible)

Do good to prove that you have faith? To prove it to whom? I believe that James was offering these verses as a self-check for followers of Christ — as a way to gauge whether we are living up to Jesus command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”   

Works are not a ticket to heaven, they are a thank-you note to God.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Don’t miss out on the joy that can be yours now.

The poem that follows is about a man who lives alone all of his life. Upon Christ’s return, he learns what had missed.

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

      “The Hermit”

He spent his whole life looking up just waiting for the Lord.
The only time his head looked down was when he searched God’s Word.
Imagine his discomfort when Christ came and he found
That he had never learned to love; he’d never looked around.

He’d never helped a wounded friend; he’d never served the poor.
He’d never even heard them when they knocked upon his door.
He’d never dried another’s tears, nor cried tears of his own.
His solitary heartbeat was all he’d ever known.

But God’s a God of mercy, and God’s a God of grace.
The hermit finally got his wish; he saw God face to face.
And in a gentle voice God said, at last, your Lord you’ve found;
But you’d have found me sooner had you learned to look around.

You’d have found me in your neighbor; you’d have found me in a friend.
You’d have found me in a dying wish as another met his end.
You’d have found me in a child as she knelt to say her prayers.
You’d have found me, and in finding, you’d have found the One who cares.

Verse for the Week:
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” Romans 12:1