While reading through James chapter 1, it became abundantly clear these passages could not be sectioned off chapter by chapter due to the density of the content. James makes extremely clear and concise statements throughout his letter that demand intense attention to fully extrapolate the details he desired his listeners and readers to grasp. One advantage his contemporary listeners had over us today is their perquisite knowledge of the Old Testament. Regardless, James’ letter is meant for the church and should not be dismissed due to our own inadequacies.
The next section of James 1 really convicted me and challenged me. Verses 5-8 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
How convicting! Looking at my own life through the years, it is easy to see the unstable and double-minded man peaking out of my heart. The Lord asks us to be consistent, patience and trust him. These three are very difficult for me personally. Consistency seems hard in a world that shifts constantly. The ebb and flow of men is like a whirlpool. Twisted with emotion and drags those caught in the current to their death at bottom of the ocean. In our culture of “now, now, now,” patience feels overwhelming. Perhaps the hardest answer to receive from the Lord is “wait.” A cut and dry “yes” or “no” allows for action; but “wait,” that is hard. Enduring towards a goal is harder than moving past a missed or received opportunity. However, God is not a man to squander His purposes and promises with mistakes. In His hands, our life is secure and sure should we choose to trust Him.
There isn’t more to say on this topic. My own mind and heart struggle through this passage and must deal with it myself before saying more. It speaks directly to one’s relationship with God. How deep is my faith? How real? While specifically referring to asking for wisdom in the passage, the indication of the passage appears to make it a principle when tied with James 4:2-3 “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” The principle seems to be: ask and receive with proper intent and trust the Lord to fulfill it in accordance with your motive.
This flows well into a few later verses that concentrate on the acting out the word. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does” (vs. 22-25).
That is so very, very hard to live. Reading the Bible, going to church, listening to sermons, podcasts, YouTube videos, reading blog posts (like this one), praying, these are relatively easy compared to living those lessons out in the moment. Doing as the word instructs is very beneficial to us—”he will be blessed in what he does.” That isn’t a faint hope but a guarantee.
In the controversy over acting vs. faith, which James begins discussing here, some might think “But that is a works-based salvation and faith!” Let’s tackle that struggle. First off, James isn’t talking about salvation. In salvation Jesus single-handedly defeated death and bought our freedom from sin through his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. He died for all men; one payment for the salvation of all humanity (Romans 5:12-21). By accepting Jesus as Lord and believing God’s miraculous resurrection of Jesus, one is reborn into Jesus resurrection life. Here there are no works to be done on our part: hear the Gospel (the good news of God’s saving plan through Jesus) and choose to believe it as true and follow. That truth does not contradict the measure of evidence for salvation. What do I mean by this?
The evidence of the resurrecting power of Jesus in my life is the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” None of these are explicitly actions (works), they are intentions and attitudes exhibited through actions. For example, perhaps while driving another car won’t let me merge onto the interstate and the on-ramp is running out. How do I respond? Is my response a flare of anger and a string of curses—which are evidence of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)? Or do I take it in stride with self-control and merge late, after being forced onto the shoulder and rumble strip? Our actions demonstrate the fruit we nurture.
Pulled from that section, verse 23, grips me as well. “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” This image is extremely vivid. Imagine a hard day of work outside; sweating, gardening, mowing the lawn and then going inside to take a shower. You look in the mirror, see the grime on your face, dirt, grass clippings, etc. How many of you would forget your state? In our society, image is extremely important. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Facetime. The condition of our face is very important to us. Yet, the Word/the Bible is like that mirror. It reveals to us the condition of our inner face—our heart. The image others see. The image that God sees. What do I look like in His eyes? Then, how do I react: put in effort to clean myself or walk away, disregarding my condition? The truth might be brutal. Like that family photo in your least flattering clothes or photo by a friend that caught you unaware. Do we allow the truth to change us? Or do we prefer to live in the grime?
