Todays reading is James 1& 2
Years ago we were in a small group and someone in the group decided that we should study the book of James for our next study. At the time I knew enough about the book of James to know it was going to be hard hitting and direct. I didn’t want to pick it because I knew it would hold a mirror up to my heart and I would have to face the truth about sin and wrong attitudes in my life. I didn’t want to see my true reflection right then. As I read through these chapters this morning, I was just as overwhelmed by James’s message today as I was all those years ago. James doesn’t mince words. He addresses topics that are relevant to each society and every time period. It honestly took me a big chunk of time to read through these chapters today because every verse speaks clearly to my life, and every verse requires thought, evaluation, and change in my day to day living.
The James that wrote this book is not the “James” that was Jesus disciple. This James grew up with Jesus. He saw every perfect choice that Jesus made in life. He watched Jesus prioritize His relationship with God, and saw first hand, Jesus’s mission lived out for His years on earth. He saw and felt how Jesus handled His relationships with family, friends and strangers. This James was Jesus’s brother. He saw what Jesus did! (I can’t help but think of those plastic WWJD bracelets that were popular a while back.) This fact alone makes me more interested in what James has to say. I’m a practical person and I like the idea of hearing from someone who lived with Jesus. I know that all scripture is from God, but this brotherly perspective peaks my interest. Was James so direct in his writings because he had a blunt, straightforward nature, or was James so affected by what he lived with and saw in Jesus that he was driven to spell out every detail he could to help others (us) be clear in what God desires?
James covers so many relevant topics in these two chapters I couldn’t possibly begin to comment on them. He is crystal clear in his instructions so there isn’t anything I can add. So what do I do with these chapters and the rest of the book of James? I have several options.
1-I can do nothing. I can finish reading this post and not even look at James 1&2.
2-I can read James 1&2, feel overwhelmed, close my Bible and go about my day.
3-I can ask God what he wants me to do with this information so that my life will actually change.
The choice is mine.
In the five chapters of James, he lays out almost a “how to be a Christ follower’’ textbook for us to consider. He challenges us to not just hear God’s truth, but to actually do it. He wants to help us understand what it takes to be different people than we are today. He challenges us to think differently, he confronts us with our selfish and prideful ways and calls us to commit to obeying God’s word so our lives will change. Personally, this is passage is too much for me to process in one sitting. I need more time to digest, evaluate and talk with God about the changes He wants to work on with me. I need to revisit this book over and over to hear God’s words and allow them to change me. If you have read some of my other posts you know I am slow to change, and that I ask God to work on me as gently as He can and still accomplish His plan. I need to read this “textbook” often so God can speak to my personhood and specific circumstances I face throughout any given year. I think I am going to commit to reading James at least once a month in the next year.
“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.” James
What will you do with James’s textbook?