A new fitness center opened here in Walla Walla a couple months ago. It’s state of the art, with lots of fitness machines, treadmills, free weights and other exercise equipment. Best of all, membership is only $10 a month for the first year! That’s a great deal!
I’m so glad I took advantage of this offer. Now, every time the monthly fee comes out of my checking account or I drive by the fitness center I think about the great deal I got and how wonderful it will be when I finally find the time to go workout there.
Yeah, that’s right. I’ve been a member for over two months and have yet to go there to exercise. That great deal I got isn’t going to do me any good unless I get up and go workout! I’m just pouring my money down the drain!
Sometimes people do the same thing with their faith. They’ve accepted the amazing deal our Heavenly Father offered when He promised if you “Believe in the Lord Jesus…you will be saved…” (Acts 16:31 NIV), but they never take the next step, by putting their faith into action. They forget that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17).
God doesn’t give us salvation so we can just go on our merry way, only exercising our faith when we pay our tithe or say grace over our food. The Christian life is a life of action, of stepping forward in faith, stretching our boundaries, lifting heavy burdens off others’ backs, and running “with perseverance the race marked out for us…” (Hebrews 12:1).
Until I step into that fitness center and start lifting those weights, stretching my joints, and running on that treadmill my great membership deal is just going to be a waste of money. I need to commit myself to a daily exercise program if I want my strength to grow.
In the same way, you and I commit ourselves to regularly exercising our faith, by sharing the Good News with others and helping those in need, if we want it to grow. If we don’t we’ll never become the men and women God wants us to be.
So, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…”(Hebrews 10:24). Let’s start exercising our faith everyday by telling others about this amazing deal God is offering for only a limited time – eternal life through Jesus Christ. And the best part? The dues are already paid!