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Scripture Reading: Matthew 21

There are times when I’ll be at a store with my kids and they’ll ask me if we can buy something.  If I know there’s a special occasion coming up, like Christmas or a birthday, I might tell them, “No, we can’t get that today.”  Then I’ll go back to the store later and get what they asked for.  When they finally get it, they’re thrilled, and quickly forget that I had ever said no.

On the other hand, there are times when my kids will ask me for something and I’ll say, “Yes, we can get that sometime.”  But if we never get around to getting it, they end up disappointed and frustrated, no matter how many times I might have said, “Yes, we can get that sometime.”

In comparing the power of actions versus words, Ralph Waldo Emerson said:  “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Jesus sums up this idea in a parable in Matthew chapter 21.  Jesus said:

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 

“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” 

“The first,” they answered. 

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him”  (Matthew 21:28-32). 

I love this story because it reminds me the importance of following through on our promises.

If we say we love God, but never repent, or never believe Him, then what good is it to say that we love Him?  If we say we love our family or friends, but never follow through with the things that we promise to do for them, what good is it to say that we love them?

Jesus explained earlier the importance of letting our “Yes” be “Yes” and our “No” be “No.”  But here, Jesus goes to the heart of the issue.  In the end, what we do matters even more than what we say.

It is what we do that will have lasting impact on those we love.  It is what we do that will demonstrate our deep love and commitment to God.  It is what we do that reveals how deeply committed we are in comparison to our verbal commitments of love.

This applies to everything from keeping a wedding vow to keeping a promise to a friend that we’ll be at their house at 10:00.  In the end, it’s what we do that will speak more about our love for them than what we say.

What can you do today to follow through on a commitment you’ve made to God or to someone you love?  How can you differentiate yourself from the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who claimed to love God, but didn’t follow through on what they said?

Maybe keeping your commitment is something as simple as making a phone call, filling out a job application, or keeping an appointment.  Maybe it would mean taking the “next step” in a bigger issue, like saving a bit of money each week to reduce an overwhelming debt, or telling a trusted friend about a habit that’s got a choke-hold on you, or opening up to your spouse about a struggle that’s been keeping you from true intimacy.  You may not be able to tackle the whole thing in a day, but you might be able to take a step towards it.

God wants us to follow through in our love for Him and others.  In the end, it is our actions that will declare our love the loudest.

Prayer: Father, show me what I can do to follow through on my commitments to love You and love others more.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.