What a challenging piece of scripture!  One of the things that makes Jesus’ teaching so wonderful and simultaneously so challenging is how direct it is.  And not just direct—but direct in speaking into the dark, troubled, and hidden parts of how things work in this world, and in our own hearts and actions as we live in it.

Often I have reflected that people I know who are otherwise seemingly solid Christians seem to have very little perception of the practical ways their faith ought to work out when it comes to others—sometimes those without social standing.  I’ve also reflected that I’ve often seen unbelievers who are very socially active in the world, trying to rectify injustices and to help the needy, yet who don’t seem to care about the cleanness and moral uprightness of their own hearts and personal behavior.  The irony of this is that while they seek to change the external world for the better, the harboring of personal darkness means that their own immediate world and relationships can’t affect others very positively, if at all.

James, keying off his brother Jesus, is very direct about these things.  So direct in fact, that if we really look hard at what they’re saying, we can easily wonder how well we’re actually doing.

James speaks in this passage in powerful ways about the necessity of being transformed in the way we perceive and treat everyone, the poor and needy especially.  He plainly calls failure in this area sin.  But he is equally direct in holding us to account for the whole law- adultery as much as favoritism.

So some of the questions I’d like to discuss this week are these:

• How does treating people with respect in the way James describes work out in our daily life and in our life as a Christian community?  How does it apply?  Where do you see us succeeding at it?  Where do you see us not doing so well?
• How would you put into your own words what James is saying about keeping the whole law, or being guilty of breaking it all?  Is the law in reality, one unbroken unity, but expressed in different specifics?  How would you explain these things?  What questions do they raise for you?
• Even though James isn’t talking about forgiveness, or Holy Spirit-given-grace to obey, how does the truth of the cross and Spirit’s power within “cover” and “intersect” with what he says in this passage?
• Finally, what kind of a difference do you see it making in your life, or in our fellowship to put what James says into practice?

May God give us a great conversation and learning experience this week!

Many blessings,

Dave