When encouragement isn’t enough …

Encouraging others is a good start at expressing Christ in us, and we’re often quick to encourage others to be encouragers.

That can be a good thing!

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.

But encouragement has a limited capacity. At some point, we need to go beyond just encouraging others if we really want to fully exercise our faith and follow in the footsteps of Jesus …

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’ — but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough, Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless,” James 2:14-17.

There are times when an encouraging word is quite sufficient, but other times when it’s useless and we need to step into the lives of others with much greater actions.

Yes, get out there and encourage others! But also step into lives and fully serve others as there is opportunity and need.

Scotty