If you’re a homeowner, at some point some little critter is probably going to find its way somewhere it does not belong.
That happened to Caryn and me this week. We got home from a weekend trip, and as soon as we walked in, I said, “Do you smell that?” She did. So then I started trying to figure out where it was coming from.
I checked the trash. I checked the garage. I even checked the attic. Nothing.
Finally, I went outside and noticed a hole in the ground near the garage, about the size of a baseball. And when I got closer to that hole, I knew I had found it. Whatever was causing the smell, that was the source.
The evidence had been there before I understood what was causing it.
And that got me thinking about my own life. If someone looked closely at me, would they see evidence that clearly points to my faith in Jesus?
James says it pretty directly in James 2:18: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
That verse always challenges me, because faith is not just something I say I have. It shows up somewhere. It shows up in my attitude, in my choices, in how I treat people, in how I respond when something is hard or inconvenient.
Those things are evidence of what is alive on the inside.
And if I’m honest, that’s something I still want to grow in. I don’t want people to have to wonder if my faith is real. I want there to be evidence. Not so I can look good, but so Jesus can be seen in me.