Good Works
Are you judged by what you do or by what you profess to be?
If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.' - John 10:37-38
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus is being judged by who and what he says he is.
Of the four Gospel writers, John is the one who is the most direct when it comes to claiming that Jesus is the Son of God, a title that many found uncomfortable.
Some, those whom he cured and helped, had no trouble accepting it because they saw first hand what he had done for them, and they chose to believe.
They were open to the possibility that God could choose to walk among them, while others were more likely to see him as a threat to all they believed and understood about God.
I wonder if it is any easier to be a believer today than it was then.
Oh, I know there claim to be over 2 billion Christians in the world and at some point in their lives they all may have said they believe, but if we polled them all, how many could explain the nature of the man John was writing about?
But as Jesus said in this passage, believe in the works if you cannot believe in me, so that you come to know and understand the Father.
That puts it into perspective, doesn't it?
It helps us understand why God chose to become man. He wants us to understand and know Him.
It is ironic though, that we can fight over the labels we give ourselves even though we claim to believe in the same God. If God wants us to know Him, and He chose a variety of ways to get the message to us, shouldn't we respect all of them and show that same respect to each other?
We can have our petty differences and still love one another, can't we?
Jesus told us he is the way to God and I believe he is. You may believe in another path, but if we both recognize God in the works we do, as Jesus taught, we can learn to see God in each other, and that may be His desire.
Of course, we can be purists and seek only to bring people to our faith, whatever that is.
But while we are fighting each other over who is right and true, we may forget to heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, aide the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and show all our brothers and sisters love and respect.
The choice is ours. Do we battle over labels, or join together in love?
If the past is any indicator of our future, we are in deep trouble. But I have faith.
We can do anything we put our minds to. And God helps us.
More to come...