James 2:17 -- On Bringing Faith to Life

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
James 2:17


Dead faith seems like a really bad thing, doesn't it?  All the more so because it seems from this verse that it died of loneliness.  I think it is a good reminder that faith can't stand alone, or be one sided.  God is not a genie, and we don't pray to get our wishes granted.  We are part of the equation.  We not only have to ask, and believe, but we also have to do.  We have to examine, study, figure out, and put in the time.  Too often we ask for things that we aren't willing to invest in or do anything about.  We pray for good grades but don't study, or we might pray for money, but not be willing to work for it.

I'm not saying that belief or faith is pointless by itself.  I think sometimes we need a place to start.  We can start out with belief, or start out with actions, and those are both good things.  Alone, they are dead, but I don't think that it is the old, shriveled and used up type of dead.  I think it is more the seed type of dead.  You're never going to grow a plant with a seed sitting on a shelf... but once you unite it with something else, so it isn't alone anymore, and you *do* something with it... work at planting it, watering it, and helping it to thrive... then it can live.  And our faith is like that sometimes.  It's dead and dormant within us, but still valuable because of the potential there.  We just have to put it into practice... plant it and let it grow, kind of like Alma 32:28: "Now, we will compare the word unto a seed."

Today, let's take our dormant faith and plant it and help it to grow.  Let's act on our beliefs, and work with God to fulfil our potential and help others to do so as well.