God’s Words are Actions
We want actions, not just words. And we should. Especially now. This is the ancient drumbeat of social protest from the civil rights movement of the 1960's up to our present moment. Activist and scholar Angela Davis said, “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” These are not merely earthly pangs. Justice in and over systemic brokenness lays at the heart of God's plan for cosmic redemption.
Through sin every aspect of the world has been broken––hearts are wicked (Jer 17:9), homes are divided in violence (Gen 4:8-9), death happens in the womb (Ecc 6:3-4), nations rage all over the world (Psalm 2:1), and conflict happens within kingdoms (1 Sam 18:6-16). These troubles are unavoidable. These troubles effect all of us because sin is laced within the very fabric of our souls. Therefore as much as what we build, lead, create, and birth reflect the image of God within us, they each also inherit sin's curse.
When faced with the ubiquity of sin we want actions, not just words. To be sure we have much to do as a church. Beginning with the necessary actions of lament and confession, we receive the Lord's comfort and forgiveness. Then together as God's people we pick up our crosses and follow Jesus. We feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and visit the prisoner (Mat 25:35-36). We befriend the forgotten (James 1:27). We love the shamed (John 8:2-11). We forgive the guilty (Mat 6:14-15). We seek new legislation and vote (Esther 9:29-32). We speak the good news of Jesus and the hope of the coming kingdom (Rom 10:17). We open up our lives and homes (1 The 2:8). We speak and we take action.
But we must be so careful. One of the primary reasons injustice exists is because words and action are not in harmony. When a parent is inconsistent in word and deed, injustice invades the home. When a politician promises but does not deliver, injustice invades government. When a church leader does not practice what they preach, injustice invades the church. We must be so careful not to simply reframe the problem as the solution.
This does not mean we stop demanding and seeking the harmony of words and actions. It means our words and actions are not enough to combat injustice. We also need to trust the Lord. It's why the writer of Proverbs said, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Micah tells us to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly. But the context of these godly actions are in relationship, "with your God" (Micah 6:8). We must not transfer our trust from one set of words and actions to another. We need to trust the Lord.
When we look to God in our hunger for justice we find a shocking reality. God is not simply a being whose words and action are consistent and righteous, but God's words are actions. When God says let there be light, light shows up. When God speaks a new name over someone, they are changed. When Jesus says rise, the dead come to life. When Jesus says it is finished, it's done. This is not like a magician who does all the work in advance to make it look like "magic words" have power. No. God's words are the power which effect change. As Timothy Keller puts it in his book Prayer, "Our words need deeds to back them up and can fail to achieve their purposes. God's words, however, cannot fail their purposes because, for God, speaking and acting are the same thing." This means God's words change things, and those changes are always good and just and right.
I know we are hungry for actions, not just words. We should be. But only God's Word possess what we truly seek––power that redeems broken systems. May we speak truth and act with justice. And may we trust the God whose words are actions.
