James 1 - Tuesday 1st October

Today’s reading is James 1

Tom writes:

When Paul and the other apostles were pursuing the mission to the nations, James probably stayed in Jerusalem pastoring a church of Christ-following Israelites.  So he writes with a pastor’s heart and a delicious, spicy Jewish flavour.  This flavour could be summed up with the verse “do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (1:22).  Obedience and action were ground into the Jewish understanding of religion - sacrificing at the temple, taking care of family members, controlling your diet, celebrating the festivals. Religious life meant doing God’s things in all of life. That was just how it was.  Most of us have grown up in a cultural blend of Greek and Romantic thought. In Greek thinking ideas are beautiful. You can dwell on them, debate them and devote yourself to them, all the time reclining on your klismos nibbling olives.

On the other hand Romantic thought has taught us to celebrate epic moments of inner joy and ravishing acts of beauty. Much modern worship services doff their beret to the French Romanticism of the Enlightenment. Neither Greek thinking nor Romantic thinking are wrong, but they can lead into immaturity and error unless they are tempered with the Jewish mind.  So it is worth us digesting as much of James as we can. It is worth us reading James as if he is a foreigner we are trying desperately to understand. Let’s get him to speak slow. Let’s repeat back to him his sentences to make sure we’ve really understood. Some of James’ lines seem simple and instantly applicable. Tame your tongue. Be quick to listen. And yet, with the Jewish mindset we realise their huge power. We come to them like sporting drills to be practised and practised again to make us do God’s things. I want to be someone who delves into all the riches of all that God has for me. I want to get close to being perfect and complete, lacking nothing (v4). I want to delight in thinking about God. I want to enjoy feeling God. And I also want to act like God. And so I’ll try to practise this book like a coaching manual for life.

Question for reflection

Are there things you believe that you struggle to live?