Actions Speak Louder Than Words

I can still hear the words ringing through the sanctuary that warm February day over 30 years ago. My dear friend and her brother sang the popular wedding song as I married the man God chose to be my husband. 

I don’t think it is a coincidence that the song popped into my head as I was preparing the message for this week’s episode of Longing for More. Google was happy to fill me in on the details of that old favorite song and I was somewhat surprised to find out it isn’t a wedding song at all. It was written exactly for a time such as this. 

You may recognize it as a popular folk song from the sixties.  It’s been released by many including Jars of Clay and under the title “By Our Love,” by King and Country. (Go to the show notes for links…)

I was inspired once again as I listened to several versions of it today and I hope you will be too.

 

They Will Know We Are Christians By our Love

The song, They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love, was written in 1960 by a then Catholic Priest, Father Peter Scholtes. He wrote it in an era that feels very similar to the one we are experiencing.  The words of the song speak to the message that has been on my heart for weeks now.  People should be able to know that we are Christians by our actions. A few of the lyrics go like this. 

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love…

I have spoken about some heavy topics in recent shows, but one thing keeps coming up for me. It’s a concern that all of this talk may not seem real to many of you because we thankfully are sheltered from seeing much of the things I spoke of personally. And that’s ok.  If God hasn’t brought it to the forefront of your awareness, it probably isn’t where He is asking you to shine your light. At least for now.

But what has He brought to your attention? The violence in our cities? The division over how to respond to COVID? The angry words on social media? Maybe for you, it is an illness or a wayward child that begs for your attention. 

 

It May Be Time to Take Action

Whatever it is, God has brought it to your attention for a reason, and chances are He’s asking you to take some sort of action. 

If it’s clear what He’s asking of you, stop delaying, gather up your courage, and go take action. 

But sometimes it isn’t always clear what He’s asking, is it?  If you have the feeling you should be doing something, but aren’t sure what, pray about it.  Get in the Word. And talk to God. He will bring you clarity either directly or through someone in your life. Often it will come from several different directions and many times He will use someone who seems to be very unlikely to carry the message. But listen and don’t be afraid to take action when you realize that it really is God who is encouraging you to do.

 

God Is In Control

Let’s face it, none of us are enjoying these trying times. But as much as we’d like to pray that our struggles would go away, we must stand strong in the knowledge that God is all-powerful. As we were reminded a few weeks ago in episodes 116 and 117 where Kelly Patterson shared her testimony about her life being trafficked, God turned into good what was meant for evil. (Gen 50:20). And He can and will do it over and over again. 

Lately, I’ve been a little overwhelmed by all that is going on in the world. The anger, harsh words, and uncertainty not to mention the undercurrent of evil that we’ve mentioned in recent shows. But then my devotions once again brought me back to the sufficiency of Jesus. One of the verses it pointed to was John 6 starting at verse one where he tells the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. I love how it says that Philip forgot who he was talking to! In the hands of Jesus, not enough became more than enough. Thousands of hungry people were fed from five loaves of bread and two fish. 

If Jesus can do that while the masses were watching, imagine what he is doing behind the scenes today.  God uses a need in the world to show his power and strength.  Well, folks, I can’t think of a time when we’ve had a greater need than we do now. So let’s not get discouraged.  Let’s not forget that the God who created the world will protect us from all harm. Including stress, overwhelm, or any virus that might come our way, and yes, even those whose evil intent is to destroy us and our faith. His grace was enough that day on the mountainside and it still is enough for us today. 

 

Say the Right Things and Take the Right Actions

But He needs our help to show the world how to not only say the right things but take the right actions. When we disagree, as I mentioned last week, we need to speak up. But we need to do so respectfully. Not with harsh and angry words, but with kind and gentle words. 

I get it, it isn’t always easy to do. Especially when people are ganging up on you and slandering those you care about. And it is especially difficult when the people and the things we love are being threatened. But when we respond out of kindness, patience, and love, those actions speak louder than any words we might say. It’s then that people will begin to believe that our God is different than all the pretenders out there.  He really does love unconditionally. And His people do too. 

Will you do so perfectly every time? Most certainly not. Will your emotions get the best of you and cause you to say things you don’t mean? Without a doubt. But ours is a God of mercy and He will forgive you when you acknowledge your weakness, ask for His help, and seek forgiveness.  You pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and you can try again. 

Emotions are high. And there are factions of people who are trying to take advantage of that and turn Christ-loving people against one another.  Don’t let them get away with it. We all want what is best for our country. We want what is best for the people who live here and we want to help those who truly need help. 

And that is where the waters get murky.  You see, there are some out there who really don’t care about all of those things and have different agendas.  They see an opportunity to use our best intentions against one another and they can get everything they want if they feed us full of half-truths and vicious stories so we won’t see their true agendas. 

Believe me, I get that no one is lily-white in this mess. But look at the true actions behind the facade and then decide who you will align with. Don’t just follow along because your favorite rock star, movie mogul, or sports icon says so. Do your research and become educated. You may be surprised by what you find out, both good and bad. But regardless of what side of the fence you land on, please, please, use your “inside” voice to express your displeasure and your allegiance. 

 

Find a Way to Work Together

Find a way to agree to disagree and work together for the true good of our nation and the world we live in.  You see, there are millions of people who don’t know Jesus yet, and if they look at us so-called Christians and all they can see is yelling, screaming, name-calling, hate-filled people with murder on their hearts, why on earth would they want to be a part of that?

In fact, I believe that is partly why so many have left the church. Because they don’t want to be identified with such behavior. But at what cost? If they are no longer in the church, who is feeding their soul? Where do they get their truth from? 

That my friend is a topic for another day. 

It is a tough world out there, but if we remember that God is in control, He will protect us. He will give us encouragement and support to do the right thing, and He will prevail. Hang in there and find your people. 

And remember, our actions do speak louder than our words. They truly will know we are Christians by our love. By the way, if you want to hear a couple of versions of the song, hop over to my show notes.  I’ll put some links there.  

I appreciate your stopping by today and ask that you share this message with someone who you think needs to hear it.  And if you would like some support in living out your faith in the world you find yourself in, now more than ever it is important that you partner with others who share the one true faith.  I’d love it if you would consider my Living Your Faith Mastermind Community. You can find out more about it at vonajohnson.com/mastermind. 

I hope you will stop back next week when I’ll be talking about whatever it is that God lays on my heart between now and then.  Until then, go, be blessed, and Live Your More!