James 2:14–17 (NASB95)
14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith
but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or
sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of
you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not
give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Five
hundred fifteen. That’s how many children were served in the North Side Baptist
Church Back to School Fair this past weekend. Each of those children left North
Side carrying a new back pack full of the supplies they would need to start
school in a couple of weeks. They
received vouchers for vaccinations, vouchers for haircuts and they had their
eyes examined. They got to meet McGruff the Crime Dog and hang out with some
real life bikers who showed up to represent Bikers Against Child Abuse. There
were also learning opportunities. Participants learned about dental hygiene and
how to use the 911 emergency telephone system. I learned something as well. I
learned something about hope. You see, I made a point of beginning at the back
of the line and following it all the way to its end. I wanted to get a sense of
the experience that was the North Side Back to School Fair. As I made my way to the front I was struck by
the number of people we can fit in our hallways. Every hall, every nook and
cranny, every twist and turn that is the North Side campus was filled to
overflowing with children and their families. And the hope – the sense of hope
that I saw on their faces was unmistakable. Despite lining up outside long
before the event began – despite waiting in long lines to get
to the school supplies – not one person complained. As I tried to wrap my mind
around the gratitude these folks had for the small gift they would receive it
dawned on me that the hope I was seeing was not in the expectation of having a
need met. It was hope born of the promise of a brighter future. It was the hope
that can only be found in the expectation that maybe, just maybe our children
will do things better than we did. North Side wasn’t handing out backpacks and
school supplies. The body of Christ was administering the salve of hope upon
the wounds of God’s beloved humanity. This is why Paul said in Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared for us to do.” And it’s why James tell us that faith without works
is dead. It’s also why every single North Side member simply must plug in and
work in one of the many local missions opportunities God has “preordained” as
Paul writes.
So
let me leave you with something. North Side is going to have another Back to
School Fair next year. Plan on serving. In the meantime, August 20-23 will
provide you with another opportunity to join the body of Christ in dealing in
hope. That’s when North Siders will prepare meals for the Center of Hope and will
serve the friends and neighbors in our community who are just a little less
fortunate than the rest of us. It will give you the perfect opportunity to see
hope in action and to grasp the connection between faith and works.
