Jesus, Lamb of God – worthy is your Name, you are my all in all.
” Yes My dear ones, My desire for each of you is to be your “all in all”. Yet the world, the flesh and the devil are hard at work trying to persuade you that there is something else, something more. So the work I am doing, the main work I am doing in each of you is to bring you nearer and nearer to My being your “all in all”. Sometimes this requires painful surgery, but the keenness of the blade is always tempered by My love and Grace, as I draw you towards Me.”
As I promised we will start with the book of James, written by Jesus’ half brother James. It is actually a complex book with many themes, but our approach will be to see it as a means of devotion and hearing Jesus speak to us. Please read James 1:1-12.
We see firstly that it is a general letter, mainly to the many Jewish Christians who had fled from Rome and established churches where they went. Vs 1 Many had suffered and were suffering great hardship and persecution vs 2. As James raises this issue, which was obviously uppermost in the minds of many of the recipients, he introduces the main theme of the letter.
The key word is in vs 4, translated as “mature” meaning a fulfilled complete Christian. It is a similar word Jesus used on the cross when He called out “it is finished!” (It has been completed). So James’ aim is to see the recipients developing, through perseverance, to a maturity or complete fulfilment.
So he sees the trials the folk are facing as “tools” in God’s hand, sculpting them to the beauty he desires we each have been made for. Echoes here of Romans ch 8:28, where in all things God is working for the same purpose. We don’t rejoice for the trials. We rejoice as we recognize God’s hand working towards a specific goal in us using the trials. Maturity. In the original James uses the term teleion twice to emphasize this.
The biggest obstacle in the letter to maturity is double mindedness cf vs 8, which is a strong theme in the letter. There are many thoughts from the Sermon On the Mount which James picks up and this is one of them. Cf Mat 6: “you cannot serve both God and mammon”.
You may ask where the Holy Spirit is in this scene? Surely He plays a pivotal role helping us in our suffering. In James the word ”Wisdom” is often used as a reference to the Holy Spirit. Hence asking for wisdom is that, but through the help of the Spirit.
So friends as we approach this letter I see it as a challenge to myself and all of you to test ourselves, asking whether we may fit the description of double-mindedness. We all, no doubt, have times of doubt and less faith, but I see here a more settled mindset where one is trusting God, but hedging your bets, as it were, by trusting something else. Maybe it is money, or a friend or some family member or something else. The prime object of our faith needs to be Jesus our ”all in all”. After that, whoever He gives us to be our help.
May God bless you al this week as go to the elections next week. See you all next Wednesday