Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The Proof Is In the Pudding

First, let me just say - if anyone is actually looking at this (!) - that I'm sorry for not being consistent. I guess that's just how it will be. So, if you are reading this - I apologize, but at least it makes it easy to stay caught up! And, if no one is, then it works great as an outlet for me! So it's a win-win all around!
For some reason, random idioms like to float through my mind when I'm reading or thinking abou things! Sometimes it's song lyrics (usually kid's songs, so not very helpful!). Occassionally, it's something spiritual like a Bible verse! But most of the time it's something seemingly useless - like this. Today, however, I decided to look it up to see if it applied to what I was reading - and, amazingly, it did. The even cooler part (is that a word?!) is that it made some of what I was reading click even more! Apparently, the phrase comes from Don Quixote and is actually "the proof of the pudding is in the eating." It means, according to Ask Yahoo, ". . . the true value or quality of something can only be judged when it's put to use." So what was I reading when this little gem popped into my mind?! James 2:17 - "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." Often, I've heard this verse and related it to "being good." I figured it meant that I had to act in a certain way in order to be truly saved. I think a lot of people tend to thing it means that. But, in reality, what James is saying is that, if you are truly saved, you will act a certain way. You can't earn your salvation through your actions. Romans 3:28 says "For we maintain tht a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law." We are justified - declared righteous by God - through our faith in God's promises and His Word, not through anything we do or say. So James says, simply, that if we are truly saved, our deeds should reflect that. The way we behave should reflect that we have been changed on the inside. The proverbial proof - the quality or value - of our faith will be found in the pudding - when it's put to use. Cool!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

what a great explanation of a section that often leads us to a "works" mentality!