The Only Thing that Matters

The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love. - Galatians 5:6

For Paul, faith matters. It matters what we believe. It matters what stands at the core of our theology. But it only matters if it is expressed in love.

Paul’s theology here stands in stark contrast to what some of us have grown up hearing - namely, that all that matters is if you believe in Jesus. Paul’s pretty clear that this is not the point of faith. It’s to allow that faith in Jesus to deeply motivate us and move us towards other human beings in love, care, compassion, justice and mercy.

At one point, the Apostle James gets really frustrated with Christians who claim to have faith but don’t show it with their life of following in the ways of Jesus. He writes them, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19). So it really, really does matter how we live our life.

Talk with Jesus about this radical approach to life: living out our faith by expressing it in love.