Acting as if God's words were true

“Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already.”  C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”

Everyone believes something.  Their actions betray their true beliefs:  “Actions speak louder than words.”  But what if someone wants to act, but lack the beliefs necessary for that action?  Should they act like they believe something, even if they are struggling to truly believe it?  It depends.  If their belief is true, but they feel doubt, then they should act according to truth until their emotions and beliefs are one.  This is the case when it comes to faith in what the Bible says.  God said things that don’t seem “real” in some people’s experiences.  God cannot lie, however, so what He says must indeed be true.  Therefore, faith means acting as though what God says is indeed true. 

Some think faith alone is enough, without any necessity of corresponding activity.  But the Bible says, “Faith without works is dead,” comparing faith and works to a body and a spirit.  As a body without a spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.  Here, the body is faith, and the spirit is works.  Works are the energy, and thus the reality of faith.  Yet the book of Hebrews also speaks of “dead works.”  Keeping spirit and body analogy, actions founded upon faithlessness are like ghosts.  Faithless actions lack conviction and the power of God.   Believers must act, and actors must believe.

Actors believe whatever their characters believe.  The best actors convince audiences of this.  Yet they pretend according to an author’s imagination.  God’s believers should “act” according to the “script” of the Supreme Author, whose words are reality and truth.  Believers in Christ are the children of God.  Therefore they should act like a child of God.  Now how is that? 

According to Paul, “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God.”  So a child of God follows the Spirit of God.  This means God’s children must first believe the Spirit of God is in them, leading them.  Then they must act like they would if they really believed this. 

What would they do if this were true?

They would acknowledge the Spirit’s constant presence. They would seek His continued leadership in all decisions before taking action.  Then they’d experience the Spirit leading them.  But they wouldn’t experience this before acting as though it were true.

Real faith in God is acted upon by God’s children.  This kind of acting is like pretending, but the difference is true pretense.  Though everyone believes something, and acts upon their true beliefs, some pretend they believe things that their actions contradict.  Everyone knows this:  actions speak louder than words.