Faith working through love

Jesus' ministry revolves around a very important pattern we should incorporate into our lives. In-between teaching, preaching, and healing, Jesus spends time alone for prayer. I think it's fair to say, the further he follows his journey, the more time he spends in prayer. Throughout the centuries, this has been the habit of Christian leaders like Martin Luther, who was said to have spent up to eight hours a day in prayer, not in addition to the things he did but his accomplishments were the outcome of his prayer life. He would routinely say things like, "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."

I wish my prayer life was more like Luther's, but it's not. However, every summer I try to prioritize an intentional time of renewal, a time to focus on my personal journey with Christ and meditate our journey as a community. I spend time researching and outlining sermon series for the upcoming year as I focus on my personal spiritual and physical health. I invite the Holy Spirit to help me take stock of my heart and soul while I research the latest in health and wellness and set personal goals for the upcoming year. I love the mountains and the wilderness. This is also a time for backpacking and camping and time at our family cabin in the Wallowas as well as time working at home on the farm.  It’s a time for me to focus on what matters most, what really counts. 

During my renewal time this summer, a passage from Galatians kept coming to me, “… the only thing that counts is faith working through love." (Galatians 5:6) That passage really carved my time away as I focused more and more on how Paul's words spoke to me as a disciple and as a leader of our church.

Christians have always struggled with the balance of faith and action. From the original twelve until today there is often a disconnect between the faith of Disciples and the work we are called to do as we follow Jesus.

Paul spent a great deal of time writing about this in his letters. Part of his call was to model faith and action in person and then later write letters to remind the churches he founded how faith in Christ should translate into action, or what Paul often refers to as "works." Following Jesus is saying yes to an invitation to pursue the life and works that God calls us to live and do.

I want to invite you to join me this weekend, journeying with Paul as he reminds us of the importance of the balance of faith and works in our new series, "Faith Working Through Love." Over the weeks to come we will spend time in several of Paul's letters, focusing on his call to join God's work for good in the midst of this broken world in which we live.

In Christ, your pastor,

Bryan White