Daily Devotion – August 25, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

James 1:17-27
1:17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
1:18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
1:19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;
1:20 for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.
1:21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
1:22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
1:23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
1:24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.
1:25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act–they will be blessed in their doing.
1:26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.
1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

I haven’t spent a lot of time in the book of James. It has seemed to me to be very preachy, and it has seemed to imply that if you follow these preachings correctly, you will look better to God the Creator. It has seemed to imply that trials and temptations are times when you can mature in your faith, and a mature faith will get you farther with God than a childlike faith.

Dwelling in this text awhile this week, though, I’m starting to warm toward it. First, it’s not that what James suggests is bad. “Be quick to listen and slow to speak” is very, very good advice. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only” and “Care for orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself unstained by the world” also make sense as ways of honoring God.

And second, I too believe that everything we have is a gift from God, our generous heavenly parent. If we live in gratitude for these gifts and see our times of trial as times for learning and growing closer to God, what could be wrong in that? I believe that God loves every single child of God, and I believe that you don’t have to have a big or mature faith for God to love you. But opportunities to grow and flourish are also gifts from our Creator, not to be taken lightly or thrown away.

So am I softening toward James? I believe I am finding the places we agree to be larger than I once thought. That’s the thing about dwelling in the Word of God: keep doing it and you keep learning and growing. Everything gets bigger and better. And James does have some memorable advice.

Dear Lord, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your Word, both the written words of your apostles and your Word made flesh, Jesus. Thanks for sending them through the ages to us as your living Word so that we might grow in our relationship to you. Amen.