This week’s post is more of a question than an answer. Reading through Revelations, it speaks of the Bride’s dress as “fine linen, bright and pure–for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.” (Rev. 19:8). And that made me wonder: what is a righteous deed?
James speaks of it, too. And throughout Revelation, Jesus repeats the phrase: “I know your deeds” (Rev. 2:19, 2:2, 3:8). God is big on doing, not just professing, faith. But how do we do this?
In my diary, I wrote something along the lines of “What is a good deed? Is it always a sacrifice? What if you complain? Can it be fun?” There’s the everyday work we glorify God by, too. Is that the same, or are good deeds on top of that?
Today, I helped a lady pack up her things for an unexpected move. Is that a good deed? Are good deeds —
- Dependent on our heart, or the nature of the deed?
- Are there a spectrum of good deeds (deeds that are fun for us, sacrifices, painful sacrifices, etc) or always a kind of sacrifice (putting away oneself/one’s desires for the benefit of someone else?)
- Are good deeds always “extras” to stack on top of our daily work (like volunteering) or can our daily work be / include good deed(s)?
Notably the Revelations passage says the garments are fine, bright, and pure, because it is the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:8). I wonder if that works in reverse.
What do you think? How would you answer the three questions?
Stay inspired,
PS – Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
thoughts of a wanderer 