If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself (James 2:15-17).
This coming Sunday is Global Hunger Sunday, and Lord willing, I will be preaching from James 2:14-18 and challenging those in our church to consider, “What good is your faith?” This passage in James, as well as other teachings in the Bible, like Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46, make clear that real faith feeds the hungry. Saving faith cannot be separated from sacrificial action.
FAITH AND WORKS
Faith, of course, is where this work begins (and continues). We must believe the right things about Jesus, especially who He is and what He has done for us. We must believe that only He can save us from our sins, change our hearts, and give us eternal life. We must believe that only He can and does sustain us and enable us to live a life pleasing to God.
Believing all that, though, is useless if we do not also surrender our lives to Him. Believing the right things about God without a changed life makes us no better than demons (see James 2:19). Real faith – saving faith – leads to action, to works. If we turn away from our sins and follow Jesus, we will not only believe the right things; we will increasingly do the right things. And, that certainly includes loving others, who obviously include the hungry.
Is your faith feeding – feeding the physical needs and the spiritual needs of others?
WAYS FAITH CAN FEED
If you are a genuine faith-filled follower of Jesus Christ and are looking for ways your faith can be proven through the action of feeding the hungry, below are some ideas. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, as there are many things that can be done. Remember, too, that when you serve others, pray for wisdom from God about how you can serve them with the most important blessing – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything else is ultimately meaningless apart from knowing and following Jesus.
Here are some things you can do now to feed the hungry:
1. Serve in a local soup kitchen.
Our church, for example, serves at the Fulton Soup Kitchen (214 West 4th Street, Fulton, MO) on the first Thursday of every month from 4 – 7 p.m. Ministry in a local soup kitchen is a very simple way to serve those who are hurting.
2. Give food to a local food pantry.
Our church has a food pantry that is filled and run by volunteers. In more than six years of serving at our church, I have never seen us run out of food, and we do not turn away those in our church family and surrounding community. People in our church sure do step up in providing food for the food pantry!
3. Give financially to feed the hungry.
I hope to challenge our church family to do this and do so sacrificially this Sunday, and if you want to join us, you can do so simply and securely by clicking HERE and selecting “Global Hunger Relief” from the dropdown menu. One hundred percent of our gifts designated to “Global Hunger Relief” go to Baptist Global Response, and they in turn distribute 100% to those in need, with $0 going to overhead expenses. What a great way to be a good steward and put your faith to action!
4. Participate in the “Happy Plate Challenge.”
Lead your family and friends to know and care about world hunger. Start a discussion about #chronichunger at your next family meal! By the time your plate is empty, your heart will be FULL! Use the below picture to spread the word on social media.
DrakeCity 