Letting Our Lives Speak

Recently, I posted something on my social media feeds that came from a sense of frustration and sadness over the way our political leaders seem to have lost any sense of right or wrong. 

I knew that it might cause a stir, but I did it anyway.  There are times to speak and times to be silent, and I chose to speak.  

It didn't take long to garner attention, and soon, people were commenting on my post and even having arguments in the comments with one another.  One of the comments hit home to me as the person critiqued whether I was acting lovingly toward people with a different viewpoint since the vision of my church is to "Love God, Love Everybody."  

There was a kernel of truth in that critique, even though my first inclination was to fire off a missive direct from Jesus about removing the huge piece of wood from your own eye before berating someone else for having a bit of sawdust in theirs. 

So many of us who call ourselves Christians are quick to judge others while stating our beliefs in unequivocal terms.  But how effective are the things that we say that we believe when we don't follow them up with real action?

"Not very," is the answer we are looking for.  

We live in a time when words—statements of belief, declarations of faith, creeds, and convictions—are everywhere.  Due to the dominance of social media in our cultural discourse, people are constantly posting about what they believe, and with great certainty.  

But in the life of faith, words alone will not do. Jesus was very clear about this when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). In other words, talk is cheap. It’s what we do that reveals who we are and what we truly believe.

Marcus Borg once wrote about what it means to live the Christian life:

“It is a way of being Christian in which beliefs are secondary, not primary. Christianity is a ‘way’ to be followed more than it is about a set of beliefs to be believed. Practice is more important than ‘correct’ beliefs. Beliefs are not irrelevant; they do matter. But they are not the object of faith. God is the ‘object’ of commitment—and for Christians, God as known in Jesus.”

This perspective flips the common narrative. Too often, Christians are known for what they say they believe rather than how they live. But the earliest followers of Jesus weren’t called “believers”—they were known as followers of The Way. That name wasn’t just symbolic. It captured the truth that to be a disciple of Jesus was to imitate His way of life: His compassion, generosity, forgiveness, humility, and justice.

Beliefs do matter, as Borg affirms, but not as the end goal. They are like signposts pointing us to the deeper commitment—our relationship with God, embodied in how we live. The Apostle James echoes this truth: “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do” (James 2:18).

It’s possible to believe all the right things about Jesus while doing none of the things He actually did. But when we forgive someone who wronged us, care for the poor, speak up for the marginalized, or love our enemies, we're not just saying we follow Jesus. We're showing it.

So today, let your actions speak. Be known not for what you say about Jesus, but for how you live like Him. Let your life become a living sermon—one that needs no words to proclaim the love, grace, and mercy of God. Don’t just call yourself a Christian. Be one.

Because in the end, the world won’t remember what you believed as much as how you lived.

Prayer:
God of mercy and truth,
Help me to follow Jesus not just in word, but in action.
Shape my life so that it reflects Your love,
Your justice, and Your grace.
Teach me to walk in Your ways daily,
so that my faith may be seen in how I live.
Let my life speak louder than my words.
Amen.