Sunny Pathway

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Power of Good Works

A story has haunted me all weekend—even while spending most of Saturday at a workshop. It’s not original with me—I heard it from a Christian teacher—but I’d like to share it.

The teacher had a dream in which he saw an image of a derelict he knew. In his dream, God asked questions and he knew that when God asked, he would wait for the revelation. Then God showed him the derelict’s life-story, a story of childhood abuse and neglect. As might be expected, the derelict became a nasty teenager and then a nasty adult.

One day, sitting on a park bench, a stray animal passed by. Normally the derelict would kick or snarl, but that day he just looked at the animal. The response was unusual. The next day God arranged for the animal to pass again. This time the derelict gave the animal a scrap of food.

Because the derelict responded with those few gestures of compassion, God gave him more opportunities--and as time passed, the derelict’s compassion expanded. Eventually, God gave the derelict an opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus and he received salvation.

There’s more to the story—but here’s the point. When he did a good work from the heart—before he knew Jesus—God built on that response. His good works actually became a bridge for him—made a way for him to receive God’s grace.

The story troubled me because it didn’t fit the doctrine on good works as shared in my doctrinal statement. Because of the story, I started questioning something I’d never questioned before.

Is there a Scriptural precedent for good works leading to salvation? Scripture must be our guide, but it seems the characters we read about in the Bible come to us as fully-developed people of faith. We don’t know what preceded their walk with God.

Well, there’s Gideon. He and his countrymen lived in caves and dens, trying to produce their crops in secret so they wouldn’t be robbed by the Midianites. While thrashing wheat in the secrecy of a wine press, the Angel of the Lord appeared. Gideon’s lashed out: if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds. . . ? (Judges 6:13a ESV) Apparently, in spite of his anger, Gideon was marked for a special anointing before the Angel appeared. God saw something in his heart.

Talking with Ken about this was interesting. He mentioned the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan was a character in a story Jesus told, but I began thinking about other Samaritans. Of the ten healed lepers, the one who returned in thanksgiving was a Samaritan. Jesus commended his faith. (Lk. 17:11-19) And Jesus met the woman by the well in Samaria. She witnessed of him to the people of her village who then came to hear Jesus for themselves. And many more believed because of his word. (Jn. 4:41)

Ken also said that he feels Jesus said things that confounded Pharisees. The teachers of the law had everything down pat, and Jesus unsettled their theology.

I realized that when it comes to theology, I rely heavily on my background. Luther received the foundational understanding of The just shall live by faith. (Rom. 1:17) And one of the verses that became my favorite after coming to God has been, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8,9a)

There’s a problem with putting all one’s theological emphasis in one place, however, so I’ve always given credibility to James 2:17: So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But none of these verses address my central question. Can a good work become a bridge to God?

People have the capacity to respond in kindness, and I'm sure everyone reading this blog has done acts of kindness. In fact, Americans routinely give to people in need. My personal feelings on that has been that some give for recognition—but some give as a response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit—and some give simply because the heart is touched. Here’s a thought: is the heart ever touched apart from the Holy Spirit?

I know I’ve done good works for the wrong reason—and the results were much better than they would have been had I followed my sinful inclinations. Perhaps I wanted to look good—sometimes because I felt competitive. Perhaps I knew I had to obey the law. Or, perhaps I wanted to make up for something that bothered me. Trying to make restitution rather than turning to God. See why I liked to focus on faith and de-emphasize works? God forgives.

And yet, when I review my walk with God, I realize that every time I responded with genuine compassion, I received grace. This was true before and after I entered into a vital walk with God.

So I've revised my thoughts on good works—although I'm not ready to make a change to my doctrinal statement yet. I need to think about it. If you're interested, here's a preview:

1) Good works have significant social value—even if done for the wrong reasons. Tragedies are avoided when people do the right thing out of fear of reprisal or condemnation. However,

2) Good works cannot pay the penalty for sin. Only the Blood of Jesus has power to cover our sinful nature. But,

3) Good works can be a response to the voice of the Holy Spirit. By responding to Him, we open ourselves to His grace—regardless of where we are in our walk with God. Good works in this context can become a bridge to receiving His revelation, His grace.

For those not into doctrine, I’m sorry for this extension. Theology and philosophy have been major interests for me. Perhaps God is unsettling my pat solutions to theological approaches. I’ll try to get back to normalcy in the next post.

2 comments:

Karin said...

When I have witnessed good works, a deed of kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity in someone's life, who does not profess to be a Christ follower, I have known that it was the Holy Spirit at work in their life. I believe that God is working in the lives of people everywhere. We just don't know where they are in their journey.

Sometimes I've actually asked the person doing the good works if they knew that the love they were showing or the kindness they were doing, was actually God at work in their lives. It has really stopped them and made them think. Perhaps I was meant to say exactly that, so that they would know to Whom to give the credit!

Interesting post! Thanks!

Solveig said...

Thank you for this thoughtful comment. I think I've believed this all along--but didn't know it. We don't realize how pervasive God is in our lives and the lives of--well, actually--all people. His love is overwhelming.