26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
We might word this differently in our day and age. We might say that a body without a brainwave is dead. We are an age that thinks if we can’t measure something, then that something doesn’t exist. We even measure love and the biological and physiological reactions that can be measured. But love is more than these measurable things. We are more than our brainwaves. Even when our brainwaves stop, we don’t cease to exist. We are more than the sum of our parts. We continue. Deeds are the evidence of faith. They are the measurable outcomes of a life of faith. If there are no measurable outcomes, James might say, then there is no faith. I like to think of it this way. If we have faith, our lives will change. If there is no change, there is no faith. Many times the changes are internal changes. Many times the changes that we do see are not the ones on our “Top Ten list of needed changes to look like a Christian” list. But James states very clearly, and I think it is one of the universals of Scripture, deeds are essential. James is talking about the quality of our faith. If our faith is the kind that can save us from our sins, then it must be active in our lives. It must be allowed to change us. It must show up on the outside of our lives. We can’t have closet faith. We must come out of the closet. We can’t live a life of faith without others knowing it. We can’t live a “don’t ask, don’t tell” life of faith.
The Arnold Journey 