In our spiritual journey, the interplay between faith and actions is beautifully captured in this quote from Hovhannes Vardapet Erznkatsi: “Faith is an ethereal string bestowed by God, descending to humanity from heavenly heights. Through sequential grasping, we steadily ascend this rope, hand over hand – each good deed a grasp, drawing us closer to God.”
Faith is not merely belief. It is trust, it is reliance, and it is hope in the unseen and eternal. It is the conviction that God’s promises are true, His love is unfailing, and His mercy is boundless. Faith is the foundation upon which we build our lives, the anchor that holds us steady in the storms of life.
The Scriptures remind us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Our deeds are the fruits of our faith, the evidence that our faith is alive and active. When we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the sorrowful, and stand for justice, we are doing more than just good works; we are living out our faith. These deeds become the rungs on the ladder that we climb, drawing us ever closer to God.
In the Armenian Christian tradition, we have always understood the inseparable bond between faith and deeds. Our church fathers taught us that our faith is perfected by our love, and our love is expressed through our deeds. This is the essence of our Christian calling – to love God and to love our neighbor, and in doing so, to ascend to God.
