Christian Praxis

Praxis: [prak-sis] - noun, plural praxises, praxes

1. practice, as distinguished from theory; application or use, as of knowledge or skills

2. a set of examples for practice

That part about "as distinguished from theory" really gets you in the gut, don't it? I think it has something to do with finding out what loving our neighbor as ourselves really means. Perhaps that means giving up a few hours at work to visit someone in the hospital whom you know needs the company and not just prayer (me: "Lord, be with them now." The Lord: "You're My Body, so go!") It might be not just taking dinner to the lady downstairs in her times of trouble, but eating with her and listening to her even when it is inconvenient to our schedules or helping the man who has fallen prey to robbers on the road ... even though we are already late for work and have 'more important things to do.'

"This is how we can be sure that we have come to know [God]: if we continually keep His commandments. The person who says, “I have come to know Him,” but does not continually keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth has no place in that person. But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God's love has truly been perfected.This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God: The one who says that he abides in Him must live the same way He [Jesus] Himself lived."(1 John 2:3-6)

And the second definition, that of examples...that should be enough to get us off our couches (or pews) and start actually being the light of the world and salt of the earth as Christ asked ...(and I need to go get busy myself, so I'm cutting this one short!)