There is an old Japanese legend that tells of a man who died and went to heaven. Heaven was beautiful–full of lush gardens and glittering mansions. But then the man came to a room lined with shelves. On the shelves were stacked piles of human ears! A heavenly guide explained that these ears belonged to all the people on earth who listened each week to the word of God, but never acted on God’s teachings. Their worship never resulted in action. When these people died, therefore, only their ears ended up in heaven.
Are we “ears only” people? Do our lives reflect our faith?
In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes, “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” (Ephesians 5:1-2 The Message)
We need to be like the little boy in church with his parents who listened to the minister describe his visit to a poor home. The minister pictured the bare rooms, the ragged clothing, the empty dishes on the table, the pale, hungry children. When he had finished his story, he announced the closing hymn. But the little boy, with tears in his eyes, cried out to his father, “But, Daddy, aren’t we going to do anything about it?” That question is being asked by our Heavenly Father over and over again – are we going to do anything about it?
What are we doing? What kind of example are we giving to the world?
Pastor Julian Gordy tells this story: I remember in high school a physician who came to talk to us about the dangers of smoking. He scared us with his grim pictures of smokers’ lungs and tales of death from lung cancer. The doctor finished his speech by saying, “Remember, fire on one end, fool on the other.”
We were all impressed, especially those boys who would sneak out behind the shop building at lunch to light one up. But a couple of the guys saw the doctor himself lighting up when he got back in his car after the lecture. And his credibility was shot. He was the talk of the campus. It would have been better for the no-smoking campaign if he had never come to speak. Saying one thing and doing another is something nobody respects. We need to walk our talk.
There was a beautiful story in the magazine In Touch a few years back. It was about Coach Cleveland Stroud of the Rockdale County, Georgia Blue Collar Bulldogs. Stroud was coach for 18 years before his basketball team made it to the state championship.
Stroud recalls that “it was the perfect night” when they won that championship. “A night you dream of.” He was carried around the gym on the shoulders of his triumphant players and their proud parents. The local paper put his picture on the front page.
But the excitement was short-lived. Two months after the championship, during a routine grade check, Stroud discovered that one player had been academically ineligible. The player had only played 45 seconds during the regional qualifying tournament but that was 45 seconds more than he should have played.
Stroud says, “I thought it was all ruined. I went through a phase where I was really depressed.” He struggled with what to do next. His commitment to integrity led him to the right decision.
“Winning is the most important thing for any coach,” he says. “But your principles have to be higher than your goals.” He reported the error to the league and the Bulldogs forfeited their trophy.
When the team lamented their loss in the locker room, he told them, “You’ve got to do what is honest, what is right, and what the rules say. People forget the scores of basketball games, but they don’t ever forget what you are made of.” Our actions speak louder than our words!
During the Revolutionary War a young man is reported to have come to George Washington and said: “General Washington, I want you to know that I believe in you and your cause. I fully support you.” Washington graciously thanked him and asked the young man, “What regiment are you in? Under whose command do you serve? What uniform do you wear?” The young man answered, “Oh, I’m not in the army. I’m just a civilian.”
The general replied, “Young man, if you believe in me and my cause, then you join the army. You put on a uniform. You get yourself a rifle and you fight.”
That is Christ’s summons to us. If we believe in Him and the cause for which He died, then we are called to take up His cross and walk in His footsteps doing those good things that He would do if He were with us in the flesh today. We need to put our faith into action, to be willing to take a stand for the Gospel letting Christ’s love shine forth in our words and deeds.
Walking with you in faith,
Your sister in Christ,
Linnea Gustafson
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association
