Poetry: Faith is Action

Spray painted God Loves You, over and over again in different colors. Photo by john crozier on Unsplash

If God is love
How can it be enough
To simply go to the “right” place
Or live the “right” way

God is love

God sees
Not whether you pray a certain way Or go a certain place
But love one another
And love is a verb

We cannot love passively
Love is meaningless without
Meaningful action

So if God is Love
And love means taking action
To show that we love
Then faith is action

Because when we follow God we must say…
I love you who are being hurt
I love you who lost your land
I love you who fled war
I love you who are being deported
I love you just as you are

No matter who you marry
Or what gender you are
What religion you are
What race you are
Or if you are many
Or none at all

I love you whether and however you pray But to say this is only a first step

When we truly love we act
We fight for those who are struggling And we fight alongside those we love

And we love everyone
No matter who they are
Because that is what God tells us to do

When the disciples followed Jesus
They did not offer merely words of support They offered action
A message to us
That words simply
Will not cut it

So we prove our love
Our faith
Through our advocacy and action

In our time
We can still throw down our nets and follow Jesus We can throw down our talk
Our work
Our free time

As the disciples threw down their nets And we can take action to follow Jesus By protecting immigrants
By advocating for the planet
By attending a protest
Or simply by helping out a friend

When fishermen throw down their nets They are sacrificing their food and wellbeing
What will we sacrifice?
Because that is what Jesus taught us
He taught us to love our neighbor
And show love by taking action

Therefore, deep faith cannot exist
Without advocating for our neighbors
And our enemies
So they too may have a better life

Faith is not an excuse for inaction
Rather our reason for action
Because those who have faith
Believe in the power of love
That envelopes everyone
And Want to share it with everyone

Anise Welty

Anise Welty is a 17-year-old incoming senior in Boise, Idaho, and attends Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship, a church that prides Read More

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