2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The first chapter of James opens with his words on faith and wisdom. James shares Paul’s attitude that we should recognize that our trials and tribulations are opportunities to build endurance in faith, personal character, and hope. God allows them to be in our lives so that we can be perfected in the process of working them out. James makes it clear that we mustn’t have doubts in a matter of faith by saying in JAS 1: 7-8, “A person like that, unable to make up, his mind and undecided in all he does, must not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.” This attitude is opposite to what comes naturally to the fleshly self. The same positive way of looking at adversity is continued in the next subject James takes up, that of poverty and riches.
JAS 1: 9-11, “The Christian who is poor must be glad when God lifts him up, and the rich Christian must be glad when God brings him down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant. The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and it’s beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich man will be destroyed while he goes about his business.” This brings to mind the advice we are given by Christ in MT 6: 19-21 about putting our riches in heaven rather than on Earth. The idea is to understand that material things don’t transcend the grave and thus of much less value to us than the spiritual things that do. The conflict between our outer fleshly selves and the Spirit within us rages on [RO 7: 14-25]. We seem to value our creature comforts over the less tangible things of faith oftentimes. James is telling us not to do that, but instead to see the treasure that we have been given that is the Gospel. James must have known people around him who gave up their material wealth to follow Christ and been spiritually the better for it. In our own times, have you known people who turned to the Lord when their finances were diminished giving them more time to turn from the pursuit of material things? I have. Their lives are made the better for it.
In MT 19: 21-24, Christ clarifies the impediment to spiritual growth money can cause. Here He is speaking to a rich young man who had just told the Lord that he followed all the commandments. “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich. Jesus then said to His disciples, ‘I assure you: it will be very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.’” James was a strict follower of Christ’s teachings, so it makes sense that what he writes agrees with what Christ teaches.
The concept of using the metaphor of the ephemeral life of plant material to demonstrate how material things are temporary finds its origins in IS 40: 6-8. When one puts this together with James’ knowledge of the OT from his Jewish background, we can understand his way of conveying this idea. IS 40: 6-8, “A voice cries out, ‘Proclaim a message! ‘What message shall I proclaim?’ I ask. ‘Proclaim that all mankind are like grass; they last no longer than wild flowers. Grass withers and flowers fade when the Lord sends the wind blowing over them. People are no more enduring than grass. Yes, grass withers and flowers fade, but the world of our God endures forever.’ “ James was also exposed to the writings of Jeremiah, who himself expressed the need to value the things of God over those of the world. JER 9: 23-24, “The Lord says, ‘Wise men should not boast of their wisdom, nor strong men of their strength, nor rich men of their wealth. If anyone wants to boast, he should boast that he knows and understands Me, because My love is constant, and I do what is just and right. These are the things that please Me. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ “
Once again the consistency of the Scriptures is shown in looking at the writings of Paul, Matthew, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and James. God and His Son deliver the same message, one which asks us to go against our fleshly desires taking up the desires of the Spirit within us. We are not to lament the loss of our money or any other material thing we lose, but instead are to see how the gifts of the Spirit are so much more valuable. Paul understood the real picture in 1 COR 15: 10, “But by God’s grace I am what I am, and the grace that He gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God’s grace working with me.”
On a personal note: I just visited my uncle’s grave for the first time. One of my aunt’s comments about him at that time was, “I am hearing from people now that he is gone for whom I never knew your uncle did acts of kindness.” I was there to say good-bye because I had been unable to go to his funeral in March’99. I mention this because, his life illustrates the point I have been making in this message. Unk may be gone now, but the goodness of his life and his faithfulness to God remains with me and with all the others that knew him for the rest of our lives. We will share that goodness from him with others who never knew him directly. Thus, my uncle’s spiritual fruit will live on and has transcended the grave. He understood what was really valuable.
PRAYER: O Lord, so many writers of the Scriptures in both the OT and the NT tell us that the matters of the Spirit are more valuable than material things that we must believe this message has come from You. Nothing You tell us should be taken lightly. When adversity comes into our lives, no matter what form it takes, we must be steadfastly faithful that You are there with us to see us through it. There must be no doubt in our minds of Your love for us or Your faithfulness. This is one way that You use to bring us closer to You. When we value these lessons of the Spirit, no material loss can defeat us. Our only path to real victory is through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ. Your sacrifice of Him on the cross is the greatest gift of Your grace. We are grateful for it and for Your presence in our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
We will continue with James’ teachings tomorrow. I know in my heart that the Lord’s arms are wrapped around us in love. We don’t have to deal with our problems alone and abandoned. That is very comforting. He gives us Himself, His Son, the Spirit, and each other for support. Rest in that knowledge and know that with your faith, you will never have to spend another day in your life unloved. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn