Making S’mores

“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:20

Going camping was one of my most favorite things to do as a child. Once school was out for the summer, our family went camping at least two or three times a month. And when one goes camping, there is one thing that just about everyone I know does, and that is the making and eating of s’mores. It almost wasn’t camping unless you had a bag of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers.

If someone says that they are making s’mores, but they just sit down and eat a plain graham cracker all by itself, then that is not a s’more. If you just take a marshmallow out of the bag and pop it into your mouth, that is not a s’more. Just having all of the ingredients does not make a s’more. You need to put them all together in a process.

To make a s’more, you need to get your graham crackers all laid out and ready, with a piece of chocolate. And then you have the most crucial part- you need to push a small stick through a marshmallow and roast that marshamallow over a fire. Once it becomes soft and brown, you need to put that marshmallow onto your graham crackers and chocolate. That is a s’more. You can have all of those ingredients, but unless you physically put them all together, you won’t have a s’more.

If someone says that they have faith in God, but they don’t have any actions that show it, is it really faith?

If you claim to love each other in the church and you someone of the congregation in need of basic needs, and you have the ability to help them, but you do not, how is that love? How is that showing your faith?

The parable of the good Samaritan greatly shows this. The first two men, a priest and a Levite saw the wounded man on the side of the road, but they did nothing. Nothing at all, but instead passed him by and left him. 

Does that sound like love?

The first two men did nothing to help. Now look at how the actions of the Samaritan differed from them. Instead of walking on by, the Samaritan poured in oil and wine into the man’s wounds, and bound them up, and then took the man to an inn to have someone look over him until he got better. 

The Samaritan had love, and compassion. The priest and the Levite did not, as was shown by their actions. Unlike the first two, the Samaritan did something. 

If I say I am going to go fishing, the proof will be me sitting in my boat on the lake with a line into the water. 

Faith without works is dead.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:14-20

One need to look no further than our Lord Himself. He was active every day, healing, teaching, and performing miracles. Every single day He did something. We need to be the same way. We need to follow His example by being busy everyday studying the scriptures, spending time in prayer, helping others, and just overall loving each other. It is through these actions that we can show our faith in Christ.

Do you have faith in Jesus? What are your works? What are some things that others can see that show your faith?

In Christ,

Andrew