Are You a Coffee Snob?, November 3
By Karen Tripp
You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete (James 2:22 NLT).
Let me ask you this. Can you be accused of being a coffee snob? Do you show up at meetings where there is free coffee with a five-dollar latte? Do you believe that cream comes out of the cow flavored with hazelnuts? Do your loved ones give you coffee paraphernalia for gifts? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might be in danger of being labeled a coffee snob. It’s amazing how much attention a person can draw just from their coffee-drinking behaviors.
But let me ask you another question. Can you be accused of being a Christian? Is there enough evidence in your behaviors for someone to know you are a follower of Jesus Christ? If I asked your coworkers, neighbors, and friends if you are a Christian, would they enthusiastically proclaim your allegiance to Christ, or would they look at me bewildered? Are they more likely to know your coffee preference than your religious preference?
Abraham’s religious preference was to faithfully follow the Lord God Almighty. One day, God led Abraham to a strange place for a strange reason. It had to do with Isaac, his son and the heir to all of Abraham’s promises from God. God told Abraham to take Isaac to the top of a nearby mountain. When Abraham got there, God told him to kill his young son as a sacrifice to the Lord. Can you imagine having so much faith in the Lord that you would take your son up the mountain, put him on the altar and begin to lower your knife to kill him? I can’t imagine it, but that’s what Abraham did. From his actions, could you accuse Abraham of being sold out to God? Oh yeah, no problem.
The good news is that God stopped Abraham from killing Isaac. So then, why did God bother? Why did God put Abraham through all that anguish? Maybe this was all about faith. Abraham stepped out in faith into the unbearable place God placed before him.
James talks about Abraham’s actions that day by saying, “You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.” (James 2:22 NIV). When we act on our faith, our faith grows. It’s really that simple. Perhaps we learn this even more in frightening places like cancer. Frightening places push us to act on our faith more. There are more worries to pray for, more unknowns to trust Him for and more stories of God carrying you to share with others.
Through our actions, we see God showing up in new ways—which leads us to more actions, which leads us to seeing God more—well, you see what can happen in scary places. Do not fear. Let your faith and your actions work together, so people can easily accuse you of being a Christian. It may at times feel scary but trust me—this is living the Christian life to the fullest: actions working with faith; faith working with actions.
Pray: Jesus, I want to live life to the fullest, so show me how to not let cancer get in the way. Help me to act on my faith and give me eyes to see how You are showing up in my cancer walk, so I may share these stories with others. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Your Turn: Make a list of times in the past when you have seen your faith and your actions working together. Next to each, state how the action impacted your faith. Add to the list actions which you could do in the future.
Karen Tripp, MS, LMFT, Cancer Caregiver
Karen is the Executive Director of Cancer Companions, the premiere national Christian cancer ministry (https://www.cancercompanion.org). Her roles have included authoring several Christian books including God is Bigger Than Your Cancer and working as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She is a daughter of a colon cancer survivor. Karen uses her experience to teach how to step into another person’s struggle to help build their faith while strengthening your own.
Cancer Companion’s vision for the future is for every person impacted by cancer to know the hope, love, and grace of Jesus and that every oncology team has included faith in their treatment toolbox. By 2033, Cancer Companions will provide 5 million engagements through cancer prayers, scriptures and interactions to those impacted by cancer. Engagements include; social media outreach, e-newsletters, prayer team requests, 30 days of Cancer Prayer event, and volunteer connections.
To learn more about our ministry and the services we provide visit our website by clicking here.
