Thursday, March 09, 2006

Enact

Isn’t it powerful when ideas become actions?
Pressing the unseen into the seen...
Translating belief into behavior...

A sacrament is defined as:
“A rite believed to be a means of or visible form of grace…”
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Baptism and Communion are central Christian sacraments: bread and wine to taste, cold water to feel... spiritual stuff enacted physically.

The church itself is a sort of sacrament, isn’t it? We are challenged to live out the Gospel -- to express God’s kingdom in our deeds.

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
James 2:17 (NIV)

“Faith without action is as dead as a body without a soul.”
James 2:26 (Phillips)
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4 comments:

Zach and Katelyn Hodges said...

I like that concept very much. I'm quite positive that we over-spiritualize things when God himself created us as physical beings and put very practical, physical elements into our spiritual life, such as sacraments. I think the extends further though. Prayer posture, going to nice places to read and study with God (like nature-y places), music, incense... all of which are quite biblical. We don't do that stuff anymore. Too "new age" for the conservative christian culture. Sad. We're missing out on intimacy with God, which is the whole point of everything.

Thu Mar 09, 12:43:00 PM 2006
Scott said...

You're right, Dr. Max -- action has impact; the beliefs being enacted will drive whether the impact is destructive or redemptive.

Thu Mar 09, 03:12:00 PM 2006
Scott said...

Hey prozach! Nice to see you here in the anam cara zone.

I'm totally with you on the idea of connecting with God as whole persons, not just cerebrally. In fact, I'm pretty-much past worrying about the "new age" tag. I file that sort of thing under "Whatever..." since I know that my deepest intent is following Jesus.

Thu Mar 09, 03:27:00 PM 2006
Scott said...

NOTE: anam cara is a Gaelic term that means something like "soul friend".

Thu Mar 09, 03:30:00 PM 2006

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