Another fact about faith is that it needs to be matched with action. Belief is not just brain cells in motion. It demands a response. Do we do what we believe? If we believe in a seed, we plant it. A man who owns an airplane but will not risk a trip is a contradictory character. It will get him exactly nowhere. We may as well believe in Mickey Mouse as the Almighty if we do not expect Him to do anything.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, an upright and forthright character, in his short book made some hard-hitting remarks. “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble” (James 2:19). Their theology was sound but useless; they were sham believers. James said they were lovers of money who were impatient with God, and using them as an example, he said faith that does not work is not faith. Everyone knows humanity first stepped onto the moon on July 20, 1969. It was a great event, but it happened a long way from planet earth. Most wives find it more useful to know their husbands, who live in the same house. That is proper faith. It is also the kind of faith God wants. He is not a figure of past history but “a very present help” (Psalm 46:1).
