Gospel Reflections #881: Religious Works

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Jesus' pure religion is a flowing spring of compassion, love, and self-sacrifice.

Christians are Christ-like individuals who serve God actively and attend social gatherings to encourage others, yet religion is not built on deeds alone.

However, religion does produce deeds.

This is because when we stand before God as we truly are, God works within us, and this divine work influences our outward lives, guiding us toward Christ-like actions.

We are not trained to avoid worldly people to keep ourselves pure, but to interact with them while looking to God and remaining constantly by His side.

We unconsciously reveal what is in our hearts.

If God's love is not there, no matter how wonderful our deeds may be, they mean nothing in God's eyes.

Those who keenly feel the lack of love should boldly ask God.

God will surely answer that request.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.