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Living faith, loving actions

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
bq. Galatians 5:6

“True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness. ” h4. Albert Einstein

“It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.”
Thomas Jefferson

Religion has a bad name. It was being discussed in the newspapers just a few weeks ago: “Nearly half the British think that religion is harmful, according to a poll carried out by
YouGov,” said one.

It is not a new theme, of course. The seventeenth century French philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

But then, writing about the same time, Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, said something perhaps more profound and provocative: “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”

Jesus’ teaching is dramatically at odds with the common assumptions of religion. Vast numbers of the world’s population
believe that they are born into their religion: in John 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again. Across the world temples are built for worship: in John 4 Jesus tells a Samaritan woman that worship is in spirit rather than in a building. Religions have their holy books: in John 5 Jesus insists that life is in Him, not in
the Scriptures.

Birth, building, book – the bedrocks of religion; but all too often barriers to discovering life and love through faith in Christ. That’s why in Open Doors we are not concerned to defend religion; rather, we are committed to encouraging faith that is expressed in love. “The word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12), as should be those who claim to live by it. The June edition of Frontline has been full of stories of how you are helping Open Doors to make a difference: people of faith right here faithfully supporting, strengthening, encouraging and equipping people of faith under pressure around the world.

Religion may be thought harmful, but faith in Christ makes people active in their giving, active in their praying, active in their volunteering, active in their campaigning. Alive and active in service for Christ—whether in the UK, in Ireland, in Egypt,
in Iraq. That is what makes a difference in our world.