This article was supposed to be written almost an entire year ago… no joke. 

I originally promised to have it done in a week, and then that week passed and turned into a month, and then that month was “too busy” so it turned into a couple months, and then those months were “too busy,” and before I knew it almost a year had passed. The only reason I’m able to write it now is because of the grace shown to me by ZealHouse founder Mitch Frost, someone who exemplifies the life of Jesus in everything he does. From daily instagram posts to weekly sermons, and from raising his two kids to discipling grown ones like me, Mitch reflects the love of Jesus like no one I’ve ever met. He’s pretty cool. 

Anyways, now that that’s out of the way, if you’re still here this is great because that means you really want to know what this is gonna be about! As I sat down and began to decide what I wanted to write, I couldn’t get past this one question: “What was stopping me from writing this article?” At surface level it seems innocent, a product of missed deadlines combined with busy seasons and responsibilities. But as I thought about it more, I realized that it was a result of a passive lifestyle lived out with little urgency. And what frightened me about this realization was that this routine had started to seep into my walk with the Lord. As I began to reflect inwardly on this startling fact, it led me to another alarming realization: I’m not the only one experiencing this problem. What I discovered is something that I believe many followers of Christ are struggling with: We are too passive in our faith. And while many of us are wanting to do something about this, we’re too busy waiting for the change to come instead of actually pursuing it. 

I wanna first define what being passive in your faith actually looks like. In the second chapter of the book of James, the author, James (who would’ve guessed), launches into the importance of a believer's faith being backed by their deeds. He explains that 

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“You see that a person is considered righteous 
by what they do and not by faith alone” 

James 2:24 

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He then follows this up with a powerful statement, writing 

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“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” 

James 2:26

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Yep, you read that right. Dead. Not weak, or struggling, but dead. Passive faith equals a faith without deeds. Without deeds the truth is our faith in its entirety cannot survive, much less thrive. Now I’m sure you’re asking “Okay, but what are these deeds he’s talking about? I held the door for eight different people today at church so clearly my faith isn’t dead.” (Just kidding about that last part). That would be an excellent question. Understanding what Christlike deeds are is an excellent place to start when looking at how to disrupt a passive faith.

Now, as I jokingly mentioned earlier, holding the door is not an example of a Christlike deed. It’s an excellent practice and I hope everyone reading this goes and holds a door for someone today, but it unfortunately isn’t what's gonna get you to heaven. Sorry :( . 

Christlike deeds can actually be defined by simply flipping around the words: deeds like Christ. That's all it is. That question that so many of us have on our bracelets saying W.W.J.D (What would Jesus do?) is crucial to breaking the practice of a passive faith. Jesus did everything in His life from a place of love and from a place of devotion to his father, and we in turn should strive to mirror that. Now, I do want to say that I understand that following every action of Jesus isn’t necessarily realistic (we should still try though). 

So here are five verses - in no particular order -  that I want you to read and take note of describing intentional actions Jesus took and taught about:

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Praying Personally to God (Luke 5:16) 

Showing Forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15)

Serving Humbly (John 13:14-15)

Showing Compassion (Matthew 25:35-40)

Loving God and Others (Matthew 22:37-39)

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All five of these practices of Jesus are excellent representations of what it looks like to have an active faith, a faith backed by intentionality and Christlike deeds. In a world where it is easier than ever to get trapped in a cycle of complacency and idleness, we as followers of Christ need to take a stand against passive faith. We are saved through the blood of Christ so that we in turn may go and make disciples of many nations (Matthew 28:19-20). 

If you’re feeling like your faith is passive and you aren’t sure how to change it, I encourage you to dive into those verses and take at least one practice of Jesus and implement it into your life. Maybe that looks like setting apart time daily to pray to the Lord. Maybe it looks like going out into the community and serving where help is needed. Maybe it looks like showing love to your family more intentionally than you recently have been. It could be different for everyone. But the important thing is that we take the next step, that we choose to change, that we choose to pursue a Christlike life, and above all that we model an active faith.

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