WORDS BACKED UP WITH ACTION by Robert Soto

WORDS BACKED UP WITH ACTION by Robert Soto

February 6, 2010

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Today, while visiting a friend in the hospital I asked to meet with a hospital chaplain to speak about performing a Native ceremony for a good friend of ours. After we finished our discussion about the ceremony, she said to me, "I really pray that one day two nations will get together and reconcile our differences." She was talking about all the nations which had come in times past who now possess the land that was taken away from the first nations, our Indian people. We went on and talked about times where reconciliation had happened between the Indian community and the non-Indian community. While they were glorious and victorious stories, I said to her, "The only problem with reconciliation meetings is that nothing ever changes. The non-Indian community comes in the name of justice or Christianity and people exchange gifts, they exchange hugs and tears and then apologize to the Indian community and then go back to the comfort of their own homes and churches and our Indian people are left behind and nothing has changed. We still have poverty, we still have alcoholism, drug abuse, and diseases that are slowly destroying and killing our people. We still have the hopelessness that is in our heart knowing nothing has changed. She looked at me and said, "You are right."

You see, for reconciliation to happen, the wrong has to be made right. The offender needs to come to the offended and make things right between themselves. Then when all the pomp and circumstance is over, they continue to make it right. The reconciliation does not stop with the ceremony but with the actions that come afterwards. Because reconciliation without actions is useless. For me to say I am sorry and then walk away is useless unless my words are followed up with action. There is a verse in the Bible that I feel is the greatest reconciliation. Most people see it as a salvation verse but I see it as the perfect example of reconciliation because God knew that without action, reconciliation would not be possible. Paul wrote, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God the Creator knew that He could say He loved us all He wanted but if His words were not backed up with action they were useless words. So He proved His love to us by giving His one and only Son. Because His words were backed up by His action, reconciliation between God and man was made possible. Reconciliation will only happen when words are backed up by actions. Without actions their efforts are useless, no matter how sincere.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church