Six is Greater than Four

It is true! Six is greater than four. Ask any math teacher, and they will tell you that the aforementioned is indeed an indisputable fact. End of story. But it is, in fact, only the beginning of our tale! However, before I spill those beans, I have a confession.

Here goes.

So, I used to tell my husband on a regular basis that he was going to hell. And I said it with all seriousness. I judged his soul and found it wanting.

Why, you may ask?

Because I thought I had the right. I thought I was better than he was, more righteous, more sanctified, more holy.

I had a date.

He did not.

What am I talking about?

Salvation. Redemption. Faith.

Romans 3:22 says, We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.

I did that. And I knew exactly when I verbally professed it. I sat in a chair on my grandmother's lap on December 24, 1988, and prayed to ask Jesus to forgive my sins.

The End.

My handsome hubby, on the other hand, didn't have such firm, find-it-on-a-calendar, affirming proof of his profession. In his words, his redemption and journey to faith in Christ was a process.

I didn't like that.

So instead of confronting the part of me that got really uncomfortable when he said things like that, I just told him in all seriousness that he'd better figure out his date or he was going to hell.

How wrong was I?

I found out just how wrong I was when I started studying the book of James.

Now, James doesn't disagree with Paul, who wrote Romans. But he does expand a little on the idea of faith. See, both men wrote with different purposes and different audiences in mind.

Paul, in Romans, was talking to people who believed the law would save them, and he wanted them to understand that faith was necessary-not the law. He also wanted to show the purpose of faith, which is salvation.

James, in James, was talking to people, who, like me, believed that an intellectual knowledge of God and a verbal profession were all the proof one needed to defend his or her salvation based on faith. His goal was to show the actual proof of faith, which is works.

James 2:14-20 says this: Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, "Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well"--but then you don't give that person any food or cloth. What good does that do? So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith . Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all--it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds." Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?

See, we are going to be judged one day. And Revelation 20:12 says exactly how we will be judged. The second half of the verse says: And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. 

But Becky, isn't that believing in salvation through works?

No!

Our faith in Christ saves us. But our actions prove that faith is real.

No actions, no faith. No faith, no salvation.

An oven set to 350 degrees is hot.

Which person has faith in this fact?

The person who says, "The oven is hot!" but still touches it?

Or the person who keeps his hands out of the oven?

It's nice to have a date of profession.

But the date isn't important unless my actions prove that the faith I professed on that date is REAL.  

And in order for my actions to prove my faith, I must go through the process of aligning my actions to God's word.  

Talk about a process!  

That' what my loving, patient husband was trying to explain to me.  

Now, for each of us, figuring out what actions God has called us to means spending time in God's Word and asking for wisdom, as James calls us to do.

 James 1:5-6: If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 

Which, in my limited and simple manner of understanding, means that if I'm going to ask God to show me what to do, I need to make sure that I am ready to follow whatever answer He gives because otherwise I am not truly believing in his power and his goodness.

Over the last 6 months Marc and I have spent a lot of time on our knees asking for wisdom, and it has become clear to us through that process that God is answering our pleas with a directive to something big.

Something scary.

Something beautiful.

Something that mirrors the redemption that He gave to us when He saved us from our sins.

Something that we know God will use to prove to us that 6 is, indeed, greater than 4.

He is calling us to adopt!

I cannot wait to share with you through this blog the journey that Marc and I have taken as we've submitted to God in this GIGANTIC UNDERTAKING! But I must save those six thousand stories for later posts!

What I will tell you now is this:

If the Lord allows, we are going to be adopting twin girls from Eastern Europe.

So the Collier family of four will soon be the Collier family of six! 

This is a big deal for all of you as well, and I say that because I am assuming that if you're reading this post, you have a part in our lives.

1 Corinthians 12 describes believers as the body of Christ, and verse 26 says: If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

We know and are so very aware that following God's call in this means that you all will be required to suffer with us and to be honored with us. We take that very seriously, and we ask you to take it seriously as well.

Please join us in praying, not only for our future daughters and for our current little family of four, but also for yourselves. Pray that God will reveal to you your role in this journey. Pray that God will soften your heart to serve and to move in whatever way He calls you. Pray that He will guide your words and your actions to be convicting and revealing and encouraging and motivated by true, pure, Christ-like love. And pray that God fulfills His Will in your life concerning adoption.

Is He calling you to pray for adoptive families and orphans?

Is He calling you to support them with your time? With your spiritual gifts? With your financial blessings?

Is He calling you to become an advocate for orphans?

Is He calling you to adopt?

Ask Him all of those things, and ask Him for wisdom, with an understanding that He will gladly give it as long as you are willing to accept it, no matter what it is.

We would like to leave you with the verses that have been poured into our souls and seared into our minds as we have traveled the first leg of this journey.

James 1:27 Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us. 

Psalm 68:5-6 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows--this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.