Devotional: Different Names, Same Street

James 2:24-26; 1 John 3:18-24

“Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth (1 Jn. 3:18, NASB).

When I moved to Cleveland, Ohio many years ago, I noticed something about some of the streets that I had not seen in my small hometown Columbia, Tennessee. I was traveling down the street and when I crossed the red light the name of the street was changed. I noticed that if I had not read the street sign, I would have never known that the name had changed. It is now common practice for a street or a segment of a street to have its name changed. It is the same street. It goes in the same direction, and it terminates in the same place as it was originally designed to do. The same can be said about faith and love. They are the same street, going in the same direction, and terminate in the same place.

James tells us that faith motivates the believer to do good works. We are familiar with his classic statement, “faith without works is dead” (Jas. 2:26). Less familiar may be 1 John 3:18. “Little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and truth. The evidence that one is of God is manifested in how one treats a brother or a sister. Both love and faith comes from God, and both motivate the person to take action necessary to meet the needs of another person.

In a practical sense, my daughter has helped me to see that it is not my duty to try to judge the people on the streets with their “Homeless” signs. Instead we are to do for all that we can for those who ask for help. We are motivated by our love and by our faith. I am learning to trust that God is sending the right person at the right time to me. Regardless, I am to demonstrate God’s love by giving to others just as God gives to this undeserving soul.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for Your love demonstrated in the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. We want to be conduits of Your love to others. Amen.