Our moth-eaten treasures will never hold up on judgment day. But if we trust our God and humbly submit to him, we have nothing to fear and everything to share.

Submitting Our Plans to God: James 4:13-17

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

When I first wrote through this passage on my blog back in 2020, it was certainly a time when we collectively realized our plans don’t always pan out. Our control is an illusion, our life a mist. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, as James reminds us. In 2020, and today, that feels like an understatement.

Right before this passage, James warned against worldliness. He reminded us that we are prone to arrogance and pride. We’re selfish and eager to spend what we’ve been given on our own passions (James 4:2-3). Instead, we’re meant to draw near to God in humble repentance (verses 6-10). Arrogance and pride are antithetical to kingdom living.

That theme continues in verses 13-17. We’re prideful even about our plans and our timing. We think we have control. Oh, how I am guilty of this! I love planning and preparing. I love calendars and schedules and maps and notepads. Currently, I have no less than nine notebooks sitting on my desk. Plus one currently laying one on the floor. Plus a desk calendar. Yes, it’s pathetic, and yes, I need to simplify.

Planning and preparing isn’t wrong, of course. We know this. There’s nothing ungodly about putting things on a calendar. It can be a helpful way to steward our time and resources. But what’s our attitude when things don’t go according to plan? What’s our response when tomorrow comes, and it doesn’t look quite as neat and tidy as we wanted?

Usually, my response is frustration, anger, bitterness, and complaining. Sometimes, I even attempt to grip my plans more tightly, trying to desperately hold together my broken agenda.

Abraham, the Israelites, and Mary

Consider Abraham when God told him that he’d be a great nation. He believed God for a while, but when God seemed to be slow in keeping his promise, Abraham slept with Hagar, his wife Sarah’s servant. He took the plans into his own hands rather than living in faithful obedience to God.

Think of the Israelites who were delivered from the hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. Things sometimes didn’t go their way as they journeyed to the land God promised them. So they complained and grumbled and did things their own way. When manna came from heaven, for example, they were told not to gather more than what they needed for that day (and enough for two days when they needed to prepare for the Sabbath). “But they did not listen to Moses,” Exodus 16:20. Some gathered more than they should have. They tried to save it up—and it “bred worms and stank.”

Their planning and preparing was a replacement for trusting God and doing what he asked. Instead of believing God would again provide the next day, they tried to plan and prepare in direct disobedience to the word of the LORD. That didn’t work out so well.

On the flip side, consider Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was told that as a virgin, she’d bear a son who would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High (see Luke 1). But this pregnancy would cause shame and distress for her. She was an unwed young woman, and this miraculous birth would change her life forever—and not all in good ways. She would deal with people accusing her of adultery and believing Jesus to be an illegitimate child. Yet she says in response to the angel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

This pregnancy was not in her plan. Raising the Son of God was not in her plan. Yet she did not argue. She didn’t complain. She didn’t take things into her own hands. She submitted herself to God and what he had planned.

His Plans are Greater

Our responses when things don’t go our way should be more like Mary and less like the Israelites in the desert or Abraham with Hagar. No one can foil God’s plans, of course, and he still fulfilled his promises to Abraham and the Israelites, despite their doubt and unfaithfulness. He also saw Hagar’s suffering and in his grace provided for her (Genesis 16:10-13). But how much better off we’d be if we just submitted our plans to God in the first place! Life may still not be easy. In fact, as we can see from Mary’s story, it can get much, much harder. But trusting God means opening our tightened fists and saying, “Here, God. Here’s what I’d like. Here’s my plan and hopes and desires. Take them and do with them what you will.”

As we humbly offer those things to him, we may even see that he shapes our paltry plans into something much greater than we could have ever imagined.

It’s okay to grieve and mourn the losses we’ve been dealt. It’s good to come before God to lament what we’ve missed, the expectations that have gone unmet, and the sorrow we’ve suffered. Those are real and painful wounds that need to be tended. But in all of it, we must come humbly to God. As we make our plans, as we prepare for tomorrow, we must submit ourselves to his will, not our own. As Isaiah 55:8 says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

We Are a Mist

Even if we have all the wealth, power, and anything else we could want, we are but a mist. It’s not that what we do has no meaning, as if we can make no contribution or our work has no value. That’s not what James is saying when he calls us a mist. Rather, the proud and arrogant aren’t nearly as great as they make themselves out to be. The person on top of the world is still nothing compared to God, and they are no more in control of their life than anyone else.

If that’s the case, if our time on earth is short and our plans uncertain, when we do know what we should be doing, we shouldn’t delay! James ends this section with an exhortation to use the time we have well to do the things God has called us to do. We are to be people who love God and love others and demonstrate the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

God in his grace uses us in his plans–plans that are far greater than ours. Why hold so tightly to our own plans when we can submit them to a God “who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think”? (Ephesians 3:20).

God’s Kingdom, Not Our Own: James 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

This is a hard passage to read. There are clues here that James directs his words toward the unbelieving rich who use their wealth to oppress the poor. He doesn’t say, “my brothers” like he often does, and he tells only of judgment rather than calling them to change. This section reads more like an Old Testament prophetic pronouncement, warning of impending doom that will one day come rather than an exhortation to the Church.1

Maybe he’s talking here to the Jerusalem elite of his day, like the Sadducees and chief priests.2 They were people of power who trusted in that status and their wealth rather than trusting in God. Yet their riches are no good on judgment day, and their injustices will be made known. The very treasures they trust in will be the things that eventually condemn them. The cries of those they’ve oppressed will reach the ears of the Lord, and justice will be served.

This is not good news for the oppressor.

While this passage may serve as a warning to the unbelieving wealthy about what’s to come, the Church cannot gloss over what’s written here. As we’ve already seen in James so far, we’re to be people who love God and love our neighbor. We’re supposed to be doers of the word. We’re supposed to demonstrate what God’s kingdom looks like.

In these verses, James calls out those who trust in wealth instead of God. They exist to build their own kingdoms, not God’s. Don’t we sometimes live more like that? Don’t we sometimes—maybe even often—trust our resources, our wealth, our power instead of God? And even if we don’t have those things as much as the next person, don’t we sometimes wish we did because we believe those things will solve our problems? When we put our trust in what we have (or what we want to have) instead of in the God who is over it all, whose kingdom are we building?

The Law the Israelites were given in Leviticus commanded them to not oppress one’s neighbor, delay paying a worker, do injustice in court, or defer to those with high status at the expense of the poor (Leviticus 19:13-14). All these things were happening in James’ day—and they continue to happen now. If we are people who do things God’s way, we won’t oppress others. We will pay fairly, we’ll be just, we won’t show partiality (James 2). We will be people who don’t store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy (Matthew 6:19-21), but we will place our hope in God. And when we do, when we put our hope in Him, we can humbly share all we have because everything good comes from our God, anyway (James 1:17).

Our moth-eaten treasures will never hold up on judgment day. But if we trust our God and humbly submit to him, we have nothing to fear and everything to share.

This doesn’t just apply to us on an individual level. Over and over again, the Old Testament calls out the Israelites for their injustice and oppression, even as the people of God (see Jeremiah 22:13-14, Isaiah 58-59, Micah 6:10-13, and Malachi 3:5, to name a few). N.T. Wright said, “No doubt, like the Jerusalem elite, the rich will then pour scorn on the poor: they deserve it, they’re lazy, they don’t know what life is all about. But the church must keep James 5:1-6 at its elbow, and must continue to speak out against the wickedness, not only individual but systemic, that colluded with such a situation.”3

Putting this into practice takes thought, work, and sacrifice. We don’t drift towards justice and generosity. We drift toward selfishness. We’re naturally inclined to do whatever will benefit us, even at the cost of our neighbor. But we must live as people who know the mercy, grace, generosity, and justice of God. We are to demonstrate the kingdom and the character of God to the rest of the world, and this call to kingdom living requires that we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

May we be people—both individually and as the Church—who aren’t just hearers of this hard word, but doers also.

Reflect

• What is your response when plans don’t go your way? How has God shown you lately that you’re not ultimately in control, but he is?

• What current plans do you have that you need to bring before God and humbly submit to him?

• When in your life have you known the right thing to do and avoided doing it? Take time to confess if you haven’t yet, and pray for wisdom and insight as you move forward.

• What material things do you tend to put your hope and trust in? Money? A sense of security? Your plans? Your job? Abilities? Etc.? What does trusting God instead of those things look like in your life this week?

• We don’t drift toward justice and generosity. How can you fight your natural inclination toward selfishness and live justly and generously instead? What could it look like in your life to pursue justice and generosity on an individual level as well as a systemic level?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Putting ourselves above God’s law is a dangerous place to be. Only God is Judge. So we humbly repent, we submit to him, we draw near to him, and we demonstrate God’s grace and love to others along the way.

I first wrote this series on James back in 2020, in the midst of incredible church, national, and global tension. While I’ve seen how God has used so many people to punch holes in the darkness of that time, there is still a lot of work to do. We still need to talk about fights, quarrels, taming the tongue, and similar subjects just as much as we did a few years ago.

It’s easy for me to point fingers when I think about what James says in this chapter. But honestly, if I knew how much I’d have to wrestle with James’ words in my own life, I’m not sure I would have undertaken this project. Thankfully, God knew I needed this, and it’s sure been a humbling process.

Let’s dive in.

What Causes Quarrels and Fights?: James 4:1-5

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

James just finished talking about how true wisdom is shown by being peaceable and gentle. It’s shown by being merciful and impartial. A harvest of righteousness, he says, is “sown in peace by those who make peace” (3:18). Then he turns here to directly address the very real and damaging problems his audience faced—and we face, too.

Why are you all at each other’s throats? he asks (my paraphrase, of course). Because your desires are fighting an internal battle in your soul, and that internal battle is wreaking havoc on the external community.

I’ve seen this in myself. There are dreams and goals and desires that I have that are unrealized. Maybe they’ll happen someday, or maybe they’ll never happen. But I’ve noticed that even when my desires themselves aren’t bad, my pride, impatience, and selfishness can feed off those desires if I’m not careful.

So are we submitting our desires to God? Are we actually asking him and trusting him with the answer? Are we seeking him daily as we work towards what we hope will happen?

What are the things you desire? A spouse, sleep, a meaningful job, a publishing deal, an income that supports your family, a child, health for a sick loved one, a home you love? James here is likely referring to money, at least in part. He addresses wealth quite a bit in his letter, but I think the broader theme still fits:

You want something, you don’t get it, and quarrels and fights ensue.

I’m focusing on good desires here, not because our sinful desires don’t need to be talked about, but because many of us forget that when our good desires go unchecked, they can lead to sin. We need to confess our sinful desires and ask God to transform us. But we also need to submit our good desires to him, lest the evil one sneak in and whisper to us that, like Abraham and Hagar, we should just make it happen. Or we grow bitter toward those who have what we want. Or, like the disciples, we start arguing over who’s the greatest rather than cultivating true Christian community.

When James here talks about murder, it’s likely that he’s using the term the way Jesus did in Matthew 5. He’s not necessarily talking about literal murder (although that could be part of it). He’s referring more to the harm we do to each other when we don’t get what we want. We’re murdering each other in our hearts. We’re not loving our neighbor. We want something, we don’t get it, so we fight about it.

In the community of faith, this should not be.

Why do we do this? One commentator writes, “When James says, ‘You do not have, because you do not ask God,’ he points to their general prayerlessness as another indicator of their spiritual condition. They have intense desires that are promoting relational havoc in the church, and yet the desires find no answer because they have ceased to go to the source of real fulfillment—God himself.”1

That’s convicting to me. When we bring our desires before God, he hears us. He may say no. He may say wait. He may reveal to us that our desires are not his, and we need to shift our perspective and thinking. He will not help us promote selfishness in our hearts, but he will help weed out that selfishness.

But when we commit our way to the LORD, when we trust him, he will act (Psalm 37:5). He may not act like we wanted him to, but we can trust that whatever he does will be for our good and his glory.

You Adulterous People

James then pretty harshly calls out his readers. “You adulterous people!” he says. Ouch. That’s an image used often in the Old Testament, one that puts Israel in its place and helps us understand the holy jealousy of our God. Look at passages like Ezekiel 16 and the book of Hosea. Hosea was even told to marry a prostitute to demonstrate Israel’s faithlessness—and yet God, as demonstrated through Hosea, still loves his people. “How can I give up on you, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?...My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender” (Hosea 11:8). God does not give up, even on his adulterous people. After calling out the sin of Israel and warning of impending judgment, God says this through the prophet:

I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them (Hosea 14:4-9).

He is a jealous God who deserves our lives. He deserves our faithfulness. But we’re in love with our own interests and our own gods—and when we are, we cannot simultaneously fully love our God. Jesus preaches this same message, calling out his listeners for their spiritual adultery (see Mathew 12:39, 16:4, Mark 8:38).

We cannot look to the world or our own desires to ultimately satisfy us and still be fully faithful to Yahweh. We’re an adulterous people who claim to be in a relationship with God but then like an unfaithful spouse, we try to fulfill our desires elsewhere.

But as Hosea reminds us, what a good and gracious God we have! He does not give up on us. He does not deal with us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). Despite our unfaithfulness, he gives us more grace.

But He Gives More Grace: James 4:6-10

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Here, we have the solution to the relationship breakdown James addressed in the previous few verses. How do we stay faithful to God? How do we heal the quarrels and fighting? How do we restore the brokenness of the community of faith? The answer: humble repentance.

From start to finish, God’s Word shows that he is a good and gracious God. We just saw in Hosea how Israel did not deserve anything but judgement, yet God still loves them and showers them with his grace. He does the same for us when we return to him in humble repentance.

If we stand up before God, saying, “I don’t want you, I don’t want your grace, I will do things my own way,” we’d better know what we’re saying. We’re rejecting the God of the universe—and Scripture shows that never ends well. But if instead we come before him in humility, desiring to be more like him and turn from our waywardness, he will give us grace. He promises that. He gives grace to the humble.

So why wouldn’t we submit to God? Submission means “yielding to the perspective or position of another.”2 Why are we so dang stubborn and blind that we refuse to yield to the perspective of the God of the universe? I’m guilty of this, too, and it’s ridiculous how bull-headed I can be. Why do I constantly want to do things my own way instead of God’s? Why do I want to have an adulterous affair with the world when God promises perfect love?

Let’s submit ourselves to God in humility. Then, we will desire only what God desires. Easier said than done, I know, but when we do, our silly quarrels and fights in the community of faith will not seem quite so important. We’ll spend our energy on loving God and loving others. Isn’t that better than bickering and looking to the world for self-satisfying happiness that will never last?

Drawing Near to God

James then tells us to resist the devil. Turn away from the one who wants to draw you from God. Don’t listen to his lies. Don’t give into his temptations. Resist him. Then, we’re promised a result—he will flee! We have the power of Christ in us to turn away from Satan—and to cause him to run away scared. He knows he’s beat. He knows that death already did its worst. He threw everything he had at Jesus on the cross. He went all in.

And he lost.

Resist the devil, and he will flee. If that wasn’t already incredible, James then says that we can draw near to God. Despite our uncleanness, despite our adultery, we can come before the holy Creator God in humble repentance.

James here uses language reflecting the sacrificial system to show us what it looks like to draw near to God. The Old Testament often speaks of the holiness of God and the fact that the unclean and unconsecrated could not come before God. In Exodus 19, Moses was on Mount Sinai and God prohibited the people and priests from coming up the mountain where the LORD was. The mountain itself was consecrated (19:23). Later in Exodus, we read that a veil was put in the tabernacle to separate the ark of the testimony (Exodus 40:26), and there was also a water basin at the tent of meeting “with which Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feed. When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed…” (Exodus 40: 31-32). In Isaiah, the prophet cried out that he was unclean, and God cleansed him with coal from the altar (Isaiah 6:5-7). Coming into the presence of God was not an action to be taken lightly.

James, then, tells us that we can draw near to God, not because God’s grace says anything goes and God doesn’t care about our sin. Rather, we can draw near to a perfectly holy God in humble repentance. “Grace has its demands on those who would be its recipients. Grace forms even while it forgives.”3 So we can rest in and accept God’s grace, and his grace does not keep us the way we are. It transforms us. It cleanses us. We come near to God and soak up his grace, and we leave changed.

Our sin should not be taken lightly. As James tells us, we should mourn and weep over it. But better to mourn and weep over our sin now and live in the grace of God than refuse that grace and have to answer for our sin on judgment day. If we humbly repent before God, he will exalt us—even after we’ve so often turned away (see also Matthew 23:12).

Thanks be to God!

Who Are We to Judge?: James 4:11-12

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

These next verses appear at first glance to be out of place. They may possibly serve as a transitional statement to introduce later themes (such as judgment in chapter 5). They also serve as a reminder of themes James has already written about, such as how we speak to one another and being a doer of the law. Whatever James’ original intent in putting these verses here, we have a great deal to learn and glean from them.

We’ve already addressed the way we speak to each other in previous weeks, but we probably need to revisit this topic daily. James tells us not to slander one other. He uses the term “brothers,” which seems to indicate again that he’s talking primarily to those within the community of faith. We shouldn’t slander anyone, but especially as followers of Christ and members of the Church, our words should be especially marked by love for God and each other.

The Greek word used here means “to speak in a harmful manner” or “to defame.”4 A slanderer tries to tear others down. A slanderer judges another person. A slanderer’s intent is not to bring others back into faith by “speaking the truth in love.” Their intent is to hurt.

Maybe we can quickly write that off by saying, “Oh, I don’t do that.” But let’s think again. For those of us who have been around the Church a while, we know that slander can be masked as a passive aggressive prayer request. It can be masked as venting. Our gossip rips people apart, and our words hurt. Our online comments, our speech, our phrases of, “How could they possibly be a Christian and think/do/say/vote….” can be slanderous judgments we utter with no intention to build up the Church.

We disagree, we’re hurt, or we’re angry. So we tear at someone else like a lion ripping apart a carcass. We hope it’ll make us feel better. We hope we’ll be satisfied once we take down our prey. But we’re not. That prey we attack is a person made in the image of God—a person, often, who is in the same community of faith. They’re a person Jesus loves, and we’re called to love. How dare we try to vindicate ourselves or coddle our own egos by ripping apart an image bearer with our hurtful words.

Too often, I have uttered words that are not meant to love. They’re not meant to refine or heal. Maybe I try to justify my harsh words by saying, “Well that person deserved it.” But don’t I, myself, deserve death? And yet God has given me more grace. And more. And more.

Who am I to refuse that grace to another?

In Leviticus 19:16, God says, “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.” Our words matter. Our motives matter. If we are not speaking in a way in front of people and behind their backs that builds them up, honors God, and loves one another, we’d better keep our mouths shut and ask for a hearty dose of wisdom and humility. Because we have broken the law. We have sinned, and we have no right to tear down others as if we were a god. “James states that when we set ourselves up as critics of the law in this way, we obviously are not engaged in ‘keeping it,’ in living it out. We have moved from a place of submissive obedience to God’s law to trampling that law under our feet.”5

Putting ourselves above God’s law is a dangerous place to be. Only God is Judge. So we humbly repent, we submit to him, we draw near to him, and we demonstrate God’s grace and love to others along the way.

That is the call of the Christian. That is what it looks like to be doers of the law.

Lord, help us.

Reflect

• Do you have unfulfilled desires that are causing bitterness or resentment to grow? Take some time this week to pray through those. Submit them before God and ask him to fulfill them, give you patience to wait, or transform your desires to be in line with his will.

• How have you been guilty of spiritual adultery? (We all are guilty of this, so if nothing comes to mind with this question, keep thinking and praying that the Holy Spirit would reveal the answers to you.)

• How can you draw near to God and resist the devil in your own life this week? How can you practice the humble repentance God asks of us?

• When have you slandered someone? Do you need to seek their forgiveness or confess to them? Ask God to help you speak the truth in love and build each other up rather than tearing others down. (I’m convicted this even relates to how I speak to and about my kids!)

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

True wisdom comes from a faith rooted in God and shows itself through our conduct and our humility.

James 3:13-18

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Remember those old motivational office posters with one word and an inspiring image? One would say “COURAGE” in big letters underneath a photograph of firefighters putting out a raging fire. Or “STRENGTH” with a picture of a roaring lion. There were plenty of others like EXCELLENCE or LEADERSHIP or PERSEVERANCE.

I don’t know if there was ever one that said, “MEEKNESS.” Meekness isn’t exactly a highly valued trait in our society. Independence. Bravery. Fortitude. We tend, at least in the United States, to admire those qualities. But meekness? And the meekness of wisdom? Not so much.

But James tells us that true wisdom isn’t about just knowing things. It’s not about shouting more loudly than the person next to us. True wisdom comes from a faith rooted in God and shows itself through our conduct and our humility.

Letting Go of Bitter Jealousy and Selfish Ambition

James is addressing relational conflict within the church. He’s talking primarily to believers, and reminding them that bitter jealousy and selfish ambition don’t come from God. If we’re claiming to have true faith, if we’re claiming to be children of God, why do our lives show jealousy and selfishness? It doesn’t make sense.

Those things come from the evil one. And the evil one is dead set on dividing God’s people. He’s determined to pit us against each other in our families, marriages, friendships, and other relationships. Our inclination to think only of ourselves and pursue our interests above the interests of others fits right into his plan. This is demonic, James tells us.

That’s some strong language. I don’t necessarily jump to call my jealousy and selfish ambition demonic, but maybe if we called those things what they were, we’d be more eager to get rid of them. Alternatively, we’ve seen in James’ letter so far that true faith bears fruit. Our works are a natural result of faith—and so if our works demonstrate jealousy and selfishness, they’re not showing a faith in God. They’re not showing that we order our life around the commandments to love God and love our neighbor. Instead, our jealousy and selfish ambition show that I will put myself above everyone else, no matter who I trample in the process.

That’s no formula for unity, especially within the community of faith.

This may sound like a silly example, but it’s one that comes to mind for me when I think about this passage. Back in 2018, I submitted my first book proposal, one that got me to the point where I had good conversations with agents. But that book at that time wasn’t going to happen. In fact, although I eventually did write a book, my original proposal ended up going nowhere and is still collecting digital dust on my computer. As the rejections came in during that season, I started to sense my selfish ambition and bitter jealousy. Whenever someone else launched a book—especially one on a similar topic as mine—I was not just discouraged. I grew bitter.

I started to get jealous of others who had bigger social media followings, since my “platform” wasn’t enough to get signed by a traditional publisher. I didn’t want to read, much less celebrate, the works of others who wrote on similar topics as me. I wanted to crawl in my own little corner and pout like a toddler.

Did this promote unity? Nope. Did this do me any good? Nope. Did this show meekness, humility, wisdom, love for God, or love for neighbor? Not one bit.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with feeling disappointed and having a minute to be sad when something doesn’t pan out the way we’d hoped. But when left unchecked, that disappointment can all too easily turn into selfishness and bitterness.

As God used this book writing process to tear away the scales of selfishness in my life, I started to celebrate others more. I started to see that I don’t have to sit on the sidelines and complain about my own work not going anywhere. Instead, I get to share and celebrate and learn from others as they put their work into the world. And friends, that is way more fun! Maybe it seems small or insignificant, but it is also a way I can love my neighbor. My own selfish ambition did nothing good for anyone, but letting go of my own agenda and learning to lift up others brought much more unity and joy.

Demonstrating True Wisdom

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” True wisdom begins with true faith–faith that’s rooted in who God is and trusts that what he says is true. True wisdom lives according to God’s ways, not our own. It’s shown in a life that builds up the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of me.

In verse 16, James lists characteristics of true wisdom—pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, sincere.

I’d like to see those on a motivational office poster.

These aren’t always the most highly valued traits in our culture. But how would our world—and specifically the Church—change if we actually practiced true wisdom? What if the Church was full of people who let go of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition and instead were the most peaceable, gentle, and merciful people in the world? What if the Church was seen as open to reason?

I think those outside the Church would take notice, and I think they’d want to be a part of it.

Being open to reason or peaceable or any of these other traits doesn’t mean we let sin slide or we give into the ways of the world in order to “keep the peace.” That’s no peace at all. N.T. Wright puts it this way:

But the challenge then for God’s people is to be able to tell the truth about the way the world is, and about the way wicked people are behaving, without turning into a perpetual grumble, and in particular without becoming someone whose appearance of “wisdom” consists in being able to find a cutting word to say about everyone and everything.”1

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). Paul wrote, “For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Corinthians 3:3). He also wrote to Timothy, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:22-23).

All over Scripture, we’re called to live a life that loves God and loves others. We’re called to be wise, which is shown by our humble conduct. We don’t get wrapped up in things that don’t matter, and on things that do matter, we speak boldly but with love. We don’t act out of jealousy or selfish ambition but out of love for God and love for our neighbor.

Our efforts are not in vain. Sometimes it feels like pursuing peace and taking the road of humility gets us nowhere. But James says otherwise. For those who live out true wisdom, for those who demonstrate their faith in the way they conduct themselves, there will be a harvest of righteousness.

We’re in this for the long haul, and while we may not see that harvest immediately, it will come. So let’s let go of our selfish ambition and bitter jealousy. Instead, let’s cling to that which is true and good and peaceful.

Let’s be people who demonstrate the meekness of wisdom.

Reflect

• In what areas of your life are you harboring bitter jealousy or selfish ambition? Maybe you’ve been able to hide it outwardly, but inwardly there’s something brewing. What do you need to weed out?

• Are there any areas of your life in which you’re more prone to selfishness or jealousy? (For example, my writing journey has been fertile ground for selfish ambition to grow.) What do you need to do to love God and others in those areas?

• What would it look like for you to show the meekness of wisdom this week? How can you practice humility, peace, being open to reason, etc.?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Our speech is one of the primary ways we demonstrate what it means to be God’s new creation people.

When I was a kid, nearly every time my brother and I got in an argument or said something mean to each other (which was often), my mom would quote Ephesians 4:29 to us. It was infuriating because I couldn’t justify my harsh words while she was reciting Scripture. (I’m sure I tried, though.) Paul wrote, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (NIV).

I rolled my eyes at my mom plenty when she said those words. But that verse has stuck with me more than almost any other. Paul told the church in Ephesus that our speech matters. It can build up or tear down the ones we’re speaking to–and others around us who are listening.

James gets at the same idea in his letter. He’s brought up the issue of speaking already (1:13, 19-20, 26; 2:3, 12), and in this chapter he really zeros in on it. Our speech, just like the rest of our actions, should reflect the character and the kingdom of God. Or, as James put it in chapter 2, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty” (verse 12).

That sounds simple, but it can be so difficult to live out. Yet our speech is one of the primary ways we demonstrate what it means to be God’s new creation people. So if we’re followers of Jesus, we have to learn to control our tongues. After all, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).

What does our speech show that we’re filled with?

A Warning for Teachers: James 3:1

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

This chapter starts with a warning to teachers. And while I think James specifically addresses those in the local church context who were teachers, it’s worth noting that these days, anyone can teach in some capacity. Even if we’re not standing on a stage, anyone can share their thoughts, opinions, and what they believe in some form on the Internet. We need to take this seriously because our words have consequences. We may have small audiences, we may not be teaching from the pulpit, and we may not know if anyone is even listening to what we’re trying to say. But as James says, if we’re attempting to teach truth (using any medium, I would argue), we need to be very cautious and very humble.

Our public teaching and our private words must be used to heal rather than harm, to speak truth rather than lies. The responsibility to stand before others (even if that “standing” is on a digital platform) and say something about God and the world has to be handled carefully and stewarded well. Likewise, what we say out of the public sphere must be in line with the truth we say we believe. We can all name prominent Christian leaders whose private words contradicted the gospel they preached. This should not be, and as teachers, we carry an extra weight of responsibility for how we use both our public and private words.1

What we say as we teach matters, and so do our motives. Jesus called out the scribes who “for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation,” he said (Luke 20:47). As I think about my own desire to teach, I’ve been wrestling with a humbling question. Am I wanting to teach to proclaim Christ, or am I being like the scribes who wanted to make themselves great? It’s a question worth careful consideration on a regular basis. Teachers, we need to check ourselves—and have people around us who can hold us accountable in the way we speak.

Steering in the Right Direction: James 3:2-6

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

Thankfully, James recognizes that we all, even teachers, stumble. James was a real person who did life with a very real, human, sinful group of believers. He knew we wouldn’t get this right completely, but our speech can be a strong indicator of the depth of our faith. In verse 2, the word “perfect” gets more at the idea of “maturity.” If we can control our tongues, we will show ourselves to be spiritually mature.

James then offers three metaphors—a bit for a horse, the rudder of a ship, and a fire. A bit and rudder are small parts of the whole, just like the tongue. But they hold incredible power. Our tongues, while they’re a small part of our bodies, have great power. We can use them to heal or harm, to build up or tear down, to love or to hate. Which direction are our tongues steering us? Every word we say (or write) can lead us and others in the direction of Christ-likeness or hellish destruction.

We’re no strangers to the danger of fires these days, especially if you live in the western part of the United States. Wildfires have ravaged our country, and it’s heartbreaking to see the loss of human lives, property, and God’s creation. The tongue can do the same thing, James tells us.

The term James uses for “hell” in verse 6 is Gehenna. Gehenna “had been a site of pagan sacrifices by fire in the OT era...and...it came to be the garbage dump of Jerusalem, a place of perpetual burning. By the NT era, Gehenna was used as the place of eternal, fiery punishment and corruption”.2 What a sobering reality. Our tongues can be a representation of the fires of hell or the new life of the kingdom of God.

We see every day how hateful speech from public figures leaves destruction in its wake. We see how verbal abuse can damage someone for their entire lives. We know that a hurtful word can ring in our ears for years to come. That old rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…” well, that’s a lie. Maybe we can brush off some hurtful words, but our words matter.

We can probably all recount times in our lives when we’ve been hurt by others’ words. And we have all hurt others with our words. We all stumble. So what do we do?

Just like every other sin, we confess, repent, seek forgiveness from God and those we’ve wronged, and practice living in a way that reflects the character and the kingdom of God. The fire of the tongue corrupts all of us (“staining the whole body”), but as God’s people, we’re to keep ourselves unstained (James 1:27). Our speech should lead us and others in the right direction, steering us toward life and not death. This doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s a part of being continually renewed and sanctified by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit.

Demonstrating the Kingdom in Our Speech: James 3:7-12

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Genesis tells us that humans were created to rule over and steward the rest of creation (Genesis 1:24-28). Yet, we can’t seem to get our own tongues in line. We can tame the beasts, but not our own speech. James’ word, “restless,” is the same word he uses in 1:8 when he says the doubter is double-minded, “unstable in all his ways.” When we cannot control our speech, we’re unstable and restless—like the double-minded person being tossed around by the waves.

In verse 9, James mentions cursing people made in the likeness of God. If we more fully grasped and then remembered in every interaction with another human being that they are made in the image of God, how would we respond to them? Would we gossip about them? Would we rush to snap judgments? Would we treat them harshly? Would we interrupt them, believing our point is more important? Would we be quick to speak or quick to listen? Would we assume the worst? Would we be arrogant and boastful?

Every human being bears the image of God, although we’ve tarnished that image with our sin. But we are to treat every. single. person as if they carry the likeness of the Creator—because they do! That doesn’t mean we don’t correct or exhort others. That doesn’t mean we become a doormat and let verbal abuse trample us. But it does mean that we control our own tongues and display the kingdom and the character of God in the way we speak to others—no matter who they are, what they believe, and dare I say, who they vote for.

There’s been far too much slander, gossip, harshness, and arrogance in our speech—and I’m talking primarily to myself and others who consider themselves part of the body of Christ. We should be the first to be gracious, kind, respectful, loving, and so many other things (which we’ll talk about more in the next post).

James goes on to say that a tree can’t bear two kinds of fruit. Both fresh and saltwater can’t come from the same spring. Neither should hellish speech and then supposed Christian sentiments come from the same mouth. I’m guilty of this. I’m guilty of using my speech to tear down. I’m guilty of being harsh with my kids, gossiping, judging, even slandering. All are sins from the pit of hell. Maybe this is starting to sound like a “hellfire and brimstone” post, but look at James’ words, not mine. The tongue is a fire set by hell (James 2:6).

Friends, we need to pay attention. We need to watch the way we speak to our kids, spouses, and friends. We need to be aware of the words we use on social media, how we comment, if we’re gossiping about others, if we’re tearing down people.

Every word we say should depict the kingdom and the character of God. That is a tall order and one I’ve failed to follow many times. But it’s a call God will continue to teach us how to obey by the power of the Holy Spirit until Christ returns.

What If the Church Did This Well?

The way we speak to each other is one of the Church’s great downfalls, especially in modern times. Spend two minutes on social media reading anything about politics—from Christians—and we quickly see that we have not tamed our tongues. Like a spark lighting a wildfire, our failure to control our tongues has wreaked havoc in every area of life.

How are we any different from the world?

But what if we led by example here? What if we spoke to every human being believing they bear the image of God? What if we were slow to speak and actually listened? What if the Church used our words in such a radically loving way that others wanted to talk to us?

Have you ever met those people who, when you talk to them, you just feel heard and encouraged? Even if they’re offering constructive criticism or pointing out something they disagree with, you knew it came from a place of love? I have those friends, and it’s life-giving to be around them. I want to be a better person because of them. They love their neighbor in the way they speak and listen, and that’s what the whole Church is called to do.

This doesn’t mean we always have to agree or that we let sin slide. But it does mean we check our tone, our gossip, our quick judgments, our arrogance, our complaints, our grumbling, our harsh words, our volume level, our online comments, and every other way we use our speech. Everything we say can be used to tear down or build up. It points to destruction or it points to Christ.

May we use our speech to demonstrate the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Reflect

• What else does Scripture say about our speech? Look at Psalm 10:7, Psalm 140:3, Proverbs 16:27, Proverbs 26:18-24, Mark 7:14-23, and Galatians 5:13-15.

• When have you used your words in a destructive way recently? If you can’t think of anything, consider reflecting a little more. We all stumble in this area—in different ways and to different degrees—but none of us has completely tamed our tongues. Take time to confess, repent, and pray that God would help you use your speech as a means to love him and love others. If necessary, confess to others you’ve wronged through your words.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

An inactive faith is really no faith at all. True faith does something.

This is a meaty passage of Scripture and one that’s given Christians some trouble. Doesn’t James contradict what Paul says? Paul says we’re justified by grace alone through faith (Ephesians 2:8), but yet here James seems to say the exact opposite (James 2:24). So what’s going on?

In these verses, James clearly argues that true faith results in us doing something. If our faith is inactive, it’s like a dead body without a spirit (James 2:17). He repeats this in some form four different times, and the structure of his argument drives his point home.1

But does our faith really require works? What does he mean, and how can we hold this to be true if we also hold what Paul says to be true?

We’re going to look at three aspects of James’ argument—first, his example of how we treat the poor, second, his argument about demons, and third, what he means by “justified.” As we look at each of these components, I think we’ll see that James doesn’t disagree with Paul. Both agree that an inactive faith is really no faith at all. True faith does something.

Faith Without Works is Dead: James 2:14-17

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

For the Jewish people, providing and caring for the poor was fundamental for living out the command to love God and love others. We covered this a bit in the last post, and here again, James reminds his readers that true faith acts on behalf of the poor and oppressed. If all we do is say, “Good luck! I hope you find what you need!” but we don’t help, that shows an anemic—and even a dead—faith.

In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks about the final judgment. He says:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ”Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, ”Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:34-40).

Then Jesus continues on, showing the reverse of that scenario. There were those who didn’t feed, clothe, and show compassion to the “least of these.” There were those who failed to demonstrate the kingdom of God through the way they treated others, especially the vulnerable. Jesus isn’t saying that our acts toward the poor and needy are what save us. But if our hearts have truly been transformed, we will demonstrate that by being compassionate, welcoming, loving, and generous to others—especially the “least of these.”

God in his grace “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (Psalm 113:7). And as followers of God, we are to demonstrate his character and his kingdom and recognize that we ourselves are needy. God has been so good and generous to us. Who are we to be anything else to others?

All through Scripture, God demonstrates his heart for the needy—and his judgment on those whose hearts are hard toward them. He rejects empty religious rituals that are all about show. What really demonstrates our faith is how we love God and love our neighbor.

Isaiah 58 gets at this idea so beautifully. Verses 6-7 say, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”

Isaiah, Jesus, James, and others throughout the Bible remind us that true faith loves the poor–and that love is shown through action. We don’t wish the poor well and go back into our comfortable homes. We help provide, we serve, we feed, we clothe, not with a “top down” attitude, but a humble heart that knows that our God has done the same for us.

True faith means our hearts have been changed, and a changed heart is demonstrated through action. Faith with no demonstrable action is no real faith at all. It’s dead, James tells us, like a body without a spirit.

But What About…?: James 2:18-20

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

James anticipates a rebuttal to his argument. He knows people will bristle at his exhortation. So he reminds his readers that even if they adhere to the most fundamental of Jewish confessions, the belief that God is one, they’re not in the clear. They haven’t shown true faith. “The confession that God is One was the most basic confession of Judaism, found in the Shema and taken up into earliest Christianity.”2

The Shema is found in Deuteronomy 6. Shema is the Hebrew word for “hear.” Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” Yahweh (the personal name for God often shown in English Bibles as “LORD” with all capitals) is the one true God and there is no other. James reminds his readers that even the demons believe this—and they shudder. Are we living differently than the demons? Are we actually putting that confession of faith into action?

The passage in Deuteronomy continues, commanding the Israelites to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (6:5). The following verses and chapters lay out for Israel who their God is and what it looked like to live as his chosen people. In other words, even in Deuteronomy, they weren’t just to admit that there is only one God. They were to follow his commands in the way they lived.

A few hundred years later, one of the scribes (a religious scholar) came up to Jesus and asked him what the greatest commandment was.

Jesus answered, “The most important is, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Last week we looked at the original commandment to love one’s neighbor found in Leviticus 19, and Jesus affirms that and the Shema from Deuteronomy. These two things are what it all boils down to. This is what it means to have faith—love God and love neighbor.

Of course some people wanted to get off the hook on a technicality about who their neighbor actually was. Jesus diffuses their argument with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Loving God and our neighbor looks like taking care of others, serving, giving, helping. It looks like doing something.

The demons don’t do that. They may know there’s only one God. But they don’t put their faith into action, demonstrating through the way they live their life that they love God and others.

Let’s not be like the demons.

Is a Person Really Justified by Works?: James 2:21-26

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

This section can be confusing. Are we really justified by works, as he says here? How do we reconcile that with what Paul says about being justified by faith?

Buckle up. There’s a lot to dig into here, and we’ll see that James’ use of “justified,” examples of Abraham and Rahab, the writings of Paul, and the ministry of Jesus show that faith does something. Inactive faith is no faith at all.

What Does James Mean By “Justified”?

James’ use of justification was different from Paul’s. He used the term in a more traditional definition, one his Jewish readers would probably have understood well. “In the traditional use of the concept, justification was an affirmation by God based on a person’s righteous actions. In other words, God proclaimed a person just based on his or her actions. But Paul sometimes used the term ‘justified’ to speak of a right standing conferred on the basis of Christ’s work on the cross (Ro 3:24; 5:1).”3

Clear as mud, right?

If this whole thing still makes your head spin, you’re not alone. But I think it’s especially helpful to understand the root of the problems that both Paul and James were trying to address. James writes to people whose faith was inactive. They said they believed something, but their life didn’t show it. They weren’t demonstrating love for God and love for neighbor in their everyday lives. “Paul’s primary nemeses, on the other hand, were those who held up certain religious practices, such as circumcision and food observances, as mandatory for Gentiles entering the new covenant.”4

We’re not justified by our religious rituals like circumcision or even agreeing with the statement that the LORD is One. We have right standing before God (as Paul says) by faith in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. And we show ourselves righteous by the way we live our actual lives.

Abraham and Rahab

James then refers back to the Old Testament and uses the examples of Abraham and Rahab. These polar opposites illustrate for James’ Jewish readers and for us that what matters is not what we intellectually assent to, but what we live our real, everyday lives based upon. Once again, true faith does something.

In Abraham’s case, he believed the promises that God gave him (Genesis 12). He believed God would be faithful, and he believed God despite the command to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. His belief was shown in how he acted. He didn’t just say, “Yes, God, I believe you. Yes, God, I’ll follow you,” and then stay put in the comfort of his tent. Instead, “Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3). He moved. He acted. He did something. He showed in his real life that he believed God, even though God’s command seemed crazy.

God did make good on his promises, and from Abraham came the nation of Israel. Abraham is revered and respected (he’s not without his flaws, though). Rahab, on the other hand, was a non-Israelite prostitute. The contrast between Abraham and Rahab could not be more stark, and I think James does that intentionally.

Joshua 2 records the story of Rahab hiding Israelite spies. She says to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all inhabitants of the land melt away before you...for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9,11).

Do you see how controversial this all is? She flat out lied to her king, the king of Jericho (Joshua 2:3-4) and told the Israelite spies that their God, Yahweh, was the true God. She put her life on the line, not knowing that she and her family would be spared.

This took incredible faith—faith that showed itself through the way she spoke and acted.

Abraham and Rahab are proclaimed just based on what they did. But the faith was there already, and it was demonstrated by the way they lived and the choices they made. James tells us that we show ourselves just by the way we actually live, and Paul asserts that it’s Christ who actually makes us just before God.

It’s as though we can look at Abraham and say, “Obviously he was justified, in the Pauline sense. Look at how he lived and what he did! So God publicly proclaimed him just (James’ sense of justified) because of the way he lived out his faith.” We can look at Rahab and say, “Of course she had true faith. She put her life on the line, because she believed the true God.” Her faith did something.

Paul Tells Us to Put our Faith to Work

Paul agrees with this. While he uses “justified” differently than James and addresses different issues within the church, he tells his readers and listeners to put their faith into action.

In Galatians 5:6, he says that it’s not about who is circumcised or uncircumcised. No. What counts is “faith working through love.” In Ephesians, he addresses theological issues (chapters 1-3), and then he goes to great lengths to remind the church how they should live their lives and act in their everyday relationships (chapters 4-6). He tells the Philippian church to “work out their salvation” (Philippians 2:12) and in Romans 12 and following, he gives clear instructions for what the life of the Christian should look like (loving, patient, prayerful, generous, hospitable, etc.).

Paul clearly doesn’t think we should just agree with his theological points and leave it at that. If we have real faith, if we believe the theology we say we do, then we will put it into practice. Otherwise, like James tells us, our faith is dead.

Those Jesus Condemns and the Ones He Commends

Consider who Jesus condemns for their lack of faith and who he commends for their faith. He often condemns the religious leaders who said they believed God, but their lives didn’t show it. On the flip side, he commends those who did something with their faith—even if their lives didn’t exactly look squeaky clean or they didn’t fit the mold of a good Jewish person.

The “sinful woman” anointed Jesus’ feet, and Jesus tells her, “Your faith has saved you” (Luke 7:50). But he rebukes the Pharisee, Simon, for the way he treated Jesus (Luke 7:36-50). Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). And then just a few paragraphs later, Matthew tells us of the faith of the centurion—a Roman officer who would have been hated by the Jews. Jesus “marveled” at his faith, which was shown by his bold confession and his action of asking Jesus to heal his servant (Matthew 8:5-13). Jesus goes toe to toe with the religious leaders, those who knew the Law and supposedly followed Yahweh. But so often, they’re the ones he called out for their lack of true faith.

This is what James is getting at. Our faith must actually move our hands, feet, minds, and bodies to demonstrate the character and kingdom of God. We serve the poor, we fight oppression, we feed the hungry, we invite people into our homes, we encourage one another with words, we love our neighbors.

We get out of our comfy chairs, pick up our crosses, and follow Jesus.

Let’s not be known for mere mental assent like the demons or many of the Pharisees. Let’s not be known for only impeccable theology but fail to love our neighbor. Let’s be known as people who believe God, love him, and relentlessly love our neighbor.

That is true faith.

Reflect

• How can you demonstrate your faith this week in the way you love the poor?

• What is your reaction when you read about how even the demons “believe” in one God?

• This week, what does faith expressing itself in obedience look like in your life? Maybe it looks like taking bold, life-changing moves like Abraham and Rahab. Maybe it looks like one small, faithful step in the right direction. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. But how can you put your faith into action this week?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

God’s people are to speak and act as those ruled by God himself. That means we love our neighbor and serve the poor, avoid partiality and show mercy.

Fulfilling the Law to Love Our Neighbor: James 2:1-11

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

As he did in his letter’s opening, James again addresses his readers with the phrase, “my brothers.” He’s talking to those within the community of faith, and in chapter two, he continues to teach them what it looks like to function as members of that community. At the forefront of this section is the call to avoid “partiality,” and here he specifically addresses partiality when it comes to wealth or status. Instead of showing favoritism, we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves.

His argument goes like this: He exhorts his readers to change, then he offers a hypothetical situation (verses 2-4), asks rhetorical questions (verses 5-6a), appeals to experience (6b-7), shows how different actions could hypothetically pan out (verses 8-11), and concludes by calling them to therefore speak and act differently.1

This exhortation from James goes way back to the Old Testament. James is not telling them anything new. He’s pointing them back to the Torah and bridging the gap between what it looks like to fulfill not just the Mosaic Law but the royal law (verse 8). Just like in James 1, God’s people are to live in a way that reflects his character and his kingdom. That requires that we love our neighbor.

Let’s take that journey with James and his readers. We’ll turn back to the book of Leviticus to see how God called Israel to live, then look at how James is therefore calling his readers (who were primarily Jewish believers familiar with the OT Law) to live, and finally reflect on what that means for us.

From Mosaic Law to Royal Law

Leviticus 19:9-18 says this:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

God’s people are marked by love for their neighbors. For the ancient Israelites, loving one’s neighbor looked like leaving crops for the poor or sojourner to take. It meant not taking from others or accusing each other falsely. It meant practicing justice, reasoning with each other instead of hating one another, and not oppressing others.

The command in Leviticus doesn’t mean be a doormat and let people walk over you. But it does tell the Israelites to not hate one another and instead be reasonable. Jesus dove into that command further when he talked about insulting and cursing one another (Matthew 5:21-26), and James gets at this idea again in chapter three when he talks about taming the tongue and what true wisdom looks like. It looks like being “peaceable, gentle, open to reason” (James 3:17).

Love your neighbor—in the way you act and speak.

The law in Leviticus shows that God’s people were to reflect who he is. He is generous, righteous, just, merciful, etc. His people were to show that in the way they lived. It’s also worth noting that “I am the LORD” was repeated a number of times in just those few verses. That’s a key phrase that appears all through Scripture, and it’s even uttered by Jesus, which made some people mad enough to try to kill him (see John 8:58). We don’t have time to get into that phrase, but the point is that Yahweh is the true God. He is the ruler over all, and he called his people, Israel, to live in a way that reflected his character.

This meant loving one’s neighbor—especially the poor and sojourner–in practical ways in everyday life. “In the OT the concept (of partiality/favoritism) often refers to unjust judgment against the vulnerable on the part of those in power...Such an attitude is contrary to God’s way of dealing with people when he judges them (Ro 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25) and, therefore, inappropriate for his people.”2

Show No Partiality

James, then, consistent with God’s call for Israel in the Old Testament, and consistent with Jesus’ own teaching and ministry, calls his readers to not show partiality. It goes against who God is. He rescued Israel while they were slaves in Egypt. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. When we look at verse five, we can hear almost an exasperated plea from James. I can picture him looking down at his letter, shaking his head and letting out a sigh. He wants the Church to grasp this. Listen. Don’t you get this? God chose the poor. We’re all heirs in the kingdom. Why in the world are we showing favoritism that God himself doesn’t show? (That’s my paraphrase, of course.)

We are all desperately in need of God, and when we favor some because of the way they look or how much they earn or whatever our worldly measuring stick says, we rebel against the character and work of God and we fail to love our neighbor. As one commentator states, “James implies that a public commitment to Christ, the Lord of glory, is incompatible with an attitude that degrades a fellow believers or puts the person at a disadvantage, for such an attitude runs contrary to God’s law.”3

This “royal law,” is the foundational law for God’s kingdom. That kingdom has come through Jesus and will one day fully be established on earth as it is in heaven. As followers of Jesus, we are to live according to the royal law. Esau McCaulley puts it this way:

The wealthy, inasmuch as they participate in and adopt the values of a society that dehumanizes people, find themselves opposing the reign of God. This dehumanization can take two forms. First, it can treat the poor as more bodies that need food and not the transforming love of God. Second, it can view them as souls whose experience of the here and now should not trouble us. This is false religion that has little to do with Jesus.”4

So what does it look like to function as the community of believers? It requires that we throw away our sinful measuring sticks and give up our habit of “sizing each other up.” It requires us to “do justice, and to love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). It requires that we learn to see one another as humans created in the image of God. And for believers, it requires that we must treat each other as brothers and sisters in Christ—even in our differences and disagreements.

“For God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:11). And if God doesn’t show partiality, we shouldn’t either.

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment: James 2:12-13

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

These verses seem to form a transition, with James concluding this section and beginning a new one. Here he talks about judgment, which he’ll come back to in chapter four. We are all under God’s law—which is good and perfect and just and loving. It’s truly a law of liberty (which I talked about in Part 5), and when we follow God’s law, we get to partake in what he has and who he is. We have the freedom to live according to his design. Anything else is a twisted, corrupt version that we make up ourselves, and who are we to make judgments according to our own standards (James 4:11-12)?

Instead, we are to show mercy. Jesus himself said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy,” (Matthew 5:7) and James just explained how favoritism is a twisted, sinful form of judgment. God, on the other hand, rules and reigns in a different, fully perfect system. Mercy doesn’t excuse sin. It doesn’t call right wrong and wrong right. But our merciful God in his perfectly just kingdom does not treat us as our sins deserve.

That is the gospel.

Psalm 103:8-10 says, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”

Our God has been abundantly merciful to us. Who are we to withhold mercy from someone else?

As James urges, let’s speak and act as those ruled by God himself. Let’s love our neighbor and serve the poor, avoid partiality and show mercy. Because that is who God is. That is the perfect example Jesus set. And that is the good, loving, beautiful way his kingdom people are meant to live.

Reflect

• How do we show partiality in our own culture? How have you recently shown partiality in your own life?

• James here, and elsewhere in his letter, talks about how we should treat the poor and vulnerable. What else does Scripture say about that? What other passages demonstrate God’s heart for those in need? How did Jesus treat the poor and vulnerable?

• What does it look like in your life and community to show mercy instead of judgment? That doesn’t mean condoning sin. Rather, it involves displaying the mercy God has shown us in the way we treat others. How can you do that this week?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Our changed lives should reflect who God is and what his kingdom is like.

True Faith Changes Us

I am starting to think this 13-part series could have been about 50 parts. Every week I come to the set of verses for the week and wonder how in the world we’ll cover them in one post. The Word of God is so rich, and we could study this a thousand times and not exhaust all there is to learn. But we can still take small, meaningful steps in the right direction.

In the first chapter of his letter, James has laid out a bird’s eye view of many of the topics he’ll bring up again. He reminds his readers to be joyful and steadfast in their trials because there’s a reward that will be worth all the struggle. And along our Christian journey, we’ll face trials and temptations that threaten to bring us down and lead us in the wrong direction. Yet we must consistently choose to follow our good God, trusting him and demonstrating that trust by putting that faith into action.

As he lays out his points, brick by brick, we can start to see the argument James builds. If we have faith in God, that faith will change not just our minds but our actions. His point is summed up well in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Each of the author’s practical exhortations come back to this: You have faith? Show it by the way you speak. You believe in a good and loving God? Act like him toward others. You say you follow Jesus? Live like him, not the world.

Faith does something. It changes us, and our changed lives should reflect who God is and what his kingdom is like.

Love With Your Speech–Even Online: James 1:19-21

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

I’m too often slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry. I get defensive before I can even hear someone voice their hurt, I rush to vocalize my opinion, and I get frustrated all too easily—especially with those closest to me.

But over and over again, Scripture talks about how the way we speak matters. James draws on the Old Testament throughout his book, and his words in verses 19-21 are reminiscent of Proverbs and other wisdom literature. Proverbs 13:3 says, “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.” And Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Paul also wrote a similar idea, saying in Ephesians, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (4:29).

We could study plenty more passages about how we speak, listen, and communicate with each other. But the point we need to remember is this: The way we communicate—just like everything else we do—should demonstrate that we love God and love others. It’s as simple as that.

James doesn’t say to never become angry. Some things should anger us. Tim Keller once said something to the effect of what am I loving so much that it’s making me this angry? (That’s my paraphrase.) It’s a good question to ask when we’re angry. Am I loving my neighbor so much that the injustice done against them makes me angry? Good. That is a right anger that we should use to fuel right actions. Or am I loving my own comfort and ease at the cost of my neighbor? That is selfishness. That is sin. Our anger—and the speech that proceeds from that anger—should demonstrate love for God and love for neighbor.

We are God’s image bearers listening to and speaking with other image bearers. Do we take that seriously? For those who follow Jesus, we are being transformed and changed to be more like Christ. Are we listening to the hurts, pains, struggles, stories, and opinions of others in a Christ-like way that points them to Jesus? Or are we trying to point others to ourselves and how “correct” our view is?

In today’s digital world, our “speech” also includes our social media comments, texting, Substack posts, Facebook messages, and any other form of communication the kids are up to these days. Our online speech should be used to love God and love our neighbor. Period. That also means that, as James calls us to do, we should be quick to listen—even online. Follow people you disagree with and hear them out. Get to know authors, writers, speakers, creatives, business people who look, sound, believe, and act differently than you. More often than not, we would do well to simply listen.

There’s absolutely a time and a place to correct someone, comment with your disagreement, or offer a strong differing opinion. Usually these hard online conversations make me want to curl up in a ball in the corner of my room, but I have seen hard conversations done well online (although I don’t think it’s usually the ideal medium). We are called to speak the truth boldly, so let’s not shy away from that. But the question should always be, am I doing this to love God and love my neighbor?

James is speaking mostly to believers. The early church apparently needed a reminder to listen and speak to each other within the community of faith that reflected the God they followed. It’s painfully obvious we need that same reminder. One commentator wrote, “The idea here is that when we allow anger to control us, spewing out poisonous emotional garbage onto our fellow believers, this falls far short of what God has designed for our relationship in the community of faith.”1

Friends, the world is watching. Others are taking note of how we who are members of the Church talk to one another—both in person and online. I’m afraid that too often (and I’m guilty of this, too), we don’t demonstrate a community of faith that reflects God and his love for the world. If how we’re living isn’t in line with who God is, we shouldn’t be doing it. Why would others want to be a part of God’s people if all they see and hear is our “poisonous emotional garbage?”

We’re supposed to put off filthiness and wickedness and “receive with meekness the implanted word” (James 1:21). Put off the old, put on the new. If we truly have received the gospel, and it has taken root in our lives, it will grow and bear fruit that displays that gospel to the world. Through that word planted in our hearts God has justified us and will one day fully sanctify and glorify us (“able to save your souls” refers to those future aspects of salvation). As we study this, we have to consider, what is it that we’re actually demonstrating to the world? The true gospel? Who God really is and what he’s done for all creation? Or something else?

Love God and love others—in the way we listen, in the way we speak, and even in how we navigate our anger.

Be A Doer of the Word: James 1:22-25

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

If we truly believe God and what he says, it will change our behavior. Otherwise, we’re like someone who looks at himself or herself in a mirror and walks away forgetting what he looks like. That person is deceiving himself. The true believer, though, looks intently in the mirror of God’s word, taking it in and examining their life as his word reflects back to them who they truly are. Then, they live differently because of it. They live according to the truth of what God’s word has shown them. They don’t hear what God says and say, “Nah, I don’t really like that. I’m going to do it a different way.”

Those who put God’s word into action hear it, examine their lives, and live according to what God says—not what they want to see.

Here’s a silly analogy. Have you ever looked in the mirror and realized you have a piece of broccoli stuck in your teeth? You didn’t know it was there until you looked in the mirror–and then, of course, you mentally backtrack to add up how many people saw you and how embarrassed you need to be.

We didn’t see the food stuck in our teeth until we looked in the mirror. Similarly, we won’t know how our lives need to change if we never look at the word of God. And to take the analogy a little further, we’re all glad when that close friend pulls us aside to point out the big green vegetable tainting our smile. They’ve saved us from a dose of humiliation. We need the same thing in our spiritual lives. We need the community of faith to point out our blind spots and sin so we can change.

When someone points out broccoli in our teeth, or when we look in the mirror and notice it, we don’t leave it there. That would be almost as ridiculous as this analogy. In the same way, if we’re to live out our faith, we shouldn’t look in the mirror of God’s word and not put what it says into action.

The “doer of the word” constantly comes back to the word, using it as a reference point for the way they live their life. And they are changed because of it.

Understanding the Law of Liberty

In verse 25, James uses the term “law of liberty.” I didn’t quite understand what was meant by this for a while, but I’m ever so slowly starting to grasp it, and I found N.T. Wright’s analogy helpful.2 He uses the example of driving rules. In some countries, we drive on the right side of the road. In others, we drive on the left side. If you live in the United States but you’re dead set on driving on the left side of the road, you won’t get very far for very long. You could decide you hate the right side of the road and it feels constricting to you and you never want to follow that law—until eventually you suffer the consequences.

While the metaphor falls short eventually, you can probably see where I’m going. God’s design for the way we should live our lives is good. And just like when we drive on the correct side of the road, we can enjoy the freedom of driving the way it was intended, so too abiding by God’s law allows us to have the freedom to live life according to his design.

This doesn’t mean you’ll never get in an accident even if you drive on the correct side of the road, and it doesn’t mean nothing bad will happen in this life even if you follow God’s law perfectly. But that’s where faith comes in, and that’s where we have to circle back to the beginning of James 1. Living according to the way God calls us to live, even when we can’t understand it, will yield a reward. When we live God’s way, James 1:25 tells us, blessing follows—maybe not immediately, maybe not in this life. But it will come. (Check out this post on James 1:12 for more on the word “blessed.)

Do Things Differently: James 1:26-27

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

If we want to be doers of the word, if we’re serious about living our faith and not just pretending, we will reflect that in the way we speak, in how we love the vulnerable, and by not getting caught up, distracted, and tempted by what the world has to offer. The way we do things will be different. It will look odd. It will cause discomfort. It will require sacrifice. It will be hard.

James knew this well and was eventually martyred for what he believed. But if we are true followers of Jesus, we can bear all of that now because we know that the weight of glory will surpass it all (2 Corinthians 4:17). That crown of life (James 1:12) will absolutely be worth anything we face now. Do we actually believe this?

If we do, we will learn to control our speech—to “bridle” our tongue, steering and controlling it just like a bridle on a horse. We will also serve the vulnerable. In James’ time (and still today) that included widows and orphans. The Old Testament is filled with passages about how God’s people were to serve the vulnerable. They were to demonstrate the generosity and goodness of God to the world, and this meant they were generous and good to others. God’s people were to serve the vulnerable because God did the same for us. God’s people were to work for justice because God is just.

Deuteronomy 10:18-19 says, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you we’re sojourner in the land of Egypt.”

In the book of Isaiah, God rebukes his people for their “vain offerings” and empty worship. He calls them instead to, “Wash yourselves; make yourself clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:16-17).

God didn’t want his people to just do the religious stuff. He wanted to use them to change the world to be the way he intended. They were supposed to live in a way that pointed to who he is. (This video from The Bible Project is helpful for understanding our call to advocate for others and pursue justice.)

From the Old Testament until now, one of the hallmarks of God’s people is that they actively pursue justice and dismantle oppression—which doesn’t only mean on an individual level. God is remaking the world, and as the people of God, we get to be a part of that process. That means we work to display his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We work to ease the burden of our neighbor, and we work to dismantle the systems that put that burden on their backs in the first place.

Church, let us be people who are known for loving our neighbor. Because who, after all, is my neighbor? According to Jesus, even those who look, believe, act, worship, or think differently than me are my neighbor (Luke 10:25-37).

New Testament scholar, Esau McCaulley, wrote this. “How could we offer those being abused anything less than the end of their suffering when we have the power to grant it? James does not say, ‘Tell the orphans and the widows to put up with their suffering.’ He says to the Christian, ‘Help them!’”3

Let us be people who are known for being just as God is just, for being merciful as God is merciful, for being good as God is good. Let us be people who feed the poor and change the social structures that lead to poverty. Let’s work to eradicate racist systems that threaten the lives and livelihoods of Black and brown men and women. There’s no racism in God’s kingdom, so as the Church we get to be people God uses to make that a reality on earth as it is in heaven. There’s no hunger in God’s kingdom, so we must feed the hungry. There’s no abuse in God’s kingdom, so we must advocate for the abused.

You get my point.

As we do all of that, as we live out our faith in our actual lives, we are to remain “unstained from the world.” As Christians, we operate differently than the rest of the world. We abide by a different standard–the law of liberty. But our role is to be people who live out who God is and what his kingdom is like. That is a high calling–one that’s an honor to live out and one that will be worth whatever it costs us now.

Holy Spirit, help us today as we do that work.

Reflect

• How is your speech-both in person and in the digital world? Is it used to love God and love others? What do you need to work on most in this area? (For example, the way you talk to your kids or spouse, your online interactions, your ability to listen, etc.)

• We’re to put away “wickedness” and live differently. What does this look like for you this week? What does it look like for you to live a life “unstained” from the world? (P.S. This doesn’t mean we walk around with a “holier than thou” attitude. We’re supposed to remain meek and humble as we live according to God’s way instead of the world’s.)

• In verse 27, James is clear about the two traits that characterize pure religion: helping the vulnerable and not giving into the ways of the world. What does doing those things look like for you in this season? Sometimes our initial thought can be, “Well, I don’t have the resources to help,” or “I don’t know how to help.” But ask God for wisdom to know how you can be a doer of the word in these areas. Take time to meditate, pray, and think creatively.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

We must run away from temptation and its destruction and toward our good God.

Don’t (Necessarily) Follow Your Heart: James 1:13-16

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”

After introducing his readers to the topics of joy, wisdom, steadfastness, and our eternal reward, James turns to warning them about what stands in the way: trials and temptations––which are not exactly the same thing. Trials form us like gold refined in a fire, and God often uses them to mold and shape us to better image him to the world.

But James is clear that temptations are not from God. While God is sovereign over us and everything we face, the intent of temptation is to draw us away from God. God sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us so that we could be reconciled to him (2 Corinthians 5:18). Why would he then try to lure and entice us away from himself? He wouldn’t, and he doesn’t.

When we think about temptation, we have to remember two simple points. They seem obvious, especially if we’re not currently facing temptation. But when we’re in the middle of fighting our earthly desires and the siren song of anything that goes against God, these points are easy to forget.

First, temptations are attractive. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be tempting. What’s tempting to me might not be tempting to you, and the evil one is crafty enough to know how to attack. We also need to be careful, because sometimes temptations look the most attractive when we are facing trials. When life is hard, we can be tempted to let bitterness, resentment, and anger build. When someone speaks poorly about us, we can be tempted to gossip. When we’re exhausted by the demands of our kids, we can be tempted to lash out at them in anger (I have some experience with that one). Satan knows how to kick us when we’re down, and we need to “be watchful.” Because the devil is out to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8-9).

That brings us to our second point. Giving into temptation always leads to destruction. God does not lead us to destruction, but our own heart and our willingness to follow the world can. James says that temptation lures and entices us—which is pretty graphic if you think about it. Picture a fish being lured to a hook, but then that hook drags that fish toward its own destruction.

The bait on that hook is never, ever worth what follows.

Our culture often preaches that we should “follow our heart.” But our heart often tells us that the bait on the hook will make us happy. We can be told to chase what looks or feels good, and so we take the bait and suffer the consequences. Maybe we don’t have to deal with the consequences immediately, but the bait of temptation that drags us away will never be as good as what God has for us—even if we have to wait for that reward.

Proverbs 14:12 warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” The prophet Jeremiah recognized that same truth as he asked God to lead and correct him. He said, “I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

If our hearts are not aligned with the heart of God, then the message to “follow your heart” is, frankly, a load of crap. That wording doesn’t sound so “spiritual,” but maybe it gets the point across to our hard hearts (mine included). Insert a stronger word for “crap,” if you’d like. But we cannot follow our hearts unless we’ve taken the time to decipher if our hearts are leading us toward destruction or toward life. Have we submitted our hearts to God? Have we asked for wisdom and discernment in our choices? Have we let the Spirit change our hearts? When our hearts are transformed and changed to be like Christ, well then yes, we can follow our hearts, because in doing so we are following God. But on our own, we need to be very, very wary of where the desires of our heart lead us.

N.T. Wright said, “If you are true to ‘yourself,’ you will end up a complete mess. The challenge is to take the ‘self’ you find within, and choose wisely which impulses and desires to follow, and which ones to resist.”1

The “follow your heart” mantra doesn’t only lead to things like sexual sin, drunkenness, financial greed, and more. It also leads to a lust for power, oppression of the poor, and harmful ideologies that many don’t just deem acceptable but even call good and Christian. We can also start to believe our bitterness is deserved and our resentment justified. Falling into temptation can sometimes be masked as righteousness. But as James (and Amos and Micah and Isaiah and Jesus and…I could keep going…) so clearly says, if your faith requires you act unjustly, you are not practicing faith in Jesus Christ. If we practice our “faith” by doing injustice, hating mercy, and walking in arrogance, well…Lord, help us. Just see Micah 6.

We need wisdom, which James talked about earlier and will bring up again later in his letter. Without wisdom, it’s all too easy to fall for Satan’s deceit, listening to him say like he did to Eve, “Did God actually say _______?” Choose carefully which voice you listen to. Are we going to believe what God says and trust who he is, or will we fall for the lies whispered in our ear?

As James reminds us in verse 16, “Do not be deceived.”

God’s Gifts are Good: James 1:1-18

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

The beauty of the Christian life is that it’s not just about avoiding temptation. It’s not about following certain rules, as if God is a stingy taskmaster. The evil one entices and drags us away, but all that is good flows from our good God. He will never whisper lies in our ear. “God’s gifts are good, not evil. Whereas temptation—an evil force that leads to sin and death—has its source in human lust, good gifts have God as their source.”2

Even when we suffer through trials, and even when we don’t understand why God works the way he does, we can trust his character. The Creator God doesn’t shift like the shadows, but he is always good. He has called us to live a life that demonstrates his goodness to the world. He has brought us from death to life—and we get to live like it.

In verse 18, James is telling us that our transformed lives are the start of the work God will one day do as he remakes all creation. God has “brought us forth” through the gospel to be a picture of what God will do for the entire cosmos. This is the complete opposite of where temptation leads us. The phrase, “brought us forth,” reminds us of the image of birth. Temptation leads to death, but God has given us new life. As Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, we must be “born again.” Peter put it this way in his letter, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefined, and unfailing, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Day by day, minute by minute, we have to choose to step forward toward God, drawing near to him and trusting that he is who he says he is. We can’t listen to the lies of our own heart, the world, or the devil. When we’re faced with all kinds of hardship, and even when the evil one tries to lure us away, we have to choose to trust the God of the universe.

It’s God from whom all blessings flow. Why would we want anything else?

We Must Go Forward

In John Bunyan’s book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian travels from the City of Destruction to Zion, the Celestial City. The story is an allegory for the Christian life, and it gives a picture of a long, arduous journey—but one with a great reward. Christian regularly faces hardship, temptation, a fight with the evil one, and plenty of other difficulties along the way. But he remains steadfast, and this scene as he comes on The Hill of Difficulty illustrates that so beautifully (bear with me with the antiquated language):

Now, when he was got up to the top of the hill, there came two men running to meet him amain; the name of the one was Timorous, and of the other Mistrust; to whom Christian said, “Sirs, what’s the matter? You run the wrong way. Timorous answered, that they were going to the City of Zion, and had got up that difficult place; but, said he, the further we go, the more danger we meet with; wherefore we turned, and are going back again.

Yes, said Mistrust, for just before us lie a couple of lions in the way, whether sleeping or waking we know not, and we could not think, if we came within reach, but they would presently pull us to pieces.

Christian: Then said Christian, You make me afraid, but whither shall I fly to be safe? If I go back to mine own country, that is prepared for fire and brimstone, and I shall certainly perish there. If I can get to the Celestial City, I am sure to be in safety there. I must venture. To go back is nothing but death; to go forward is fear of death, and life everlasting beyond it. I will yet go forward.3

To go back is death. To go forward is life. It sounds simple, but that’s what is required of us to remain steadfast and endure until we are at last living with God in the new creation. We cannot walk towards God and away from him at the same time; we have to choose. For followers of Jesus, it makes no sense at all to choose the life behind us. We can’t hold onto the sin and temptation of our old life while we walk into the new life. We’re a new creation, and our lives are just the beginning of what God will do for all of his creation.

Just like Christian couldn’t give into the temptation to turn back and still end up in the Celestial City, we cannot choose both God and a life that leads us away from him. That is no life at all.

Whatever trials and temptations we face, let’s cling to the hope we have. Walking away from him will never give us what we truly need. We must run from temptation and toward our good God.

As Christian resolved to do, we must yet go forward.

Reflect

• What trials are you facing right now? Are there any temptations you’re especially susceptible to? Satan wants to kick us while we’re down. How can you remain steadfast in trials and resist the temptations you face?

• Discerning whether our hearts are leading us toward or away from God isn’t always easy. It requires wisdom and guidance from the Holy Spirit. Take a few minutes and pray for that wisdom. Pray that the Spirit would shape your decision-making and form your desires to be Christ-like.

• What does stepping forward in your faith look like today? What’s the next step you need to take to live a steadfast life and trust our faithful God?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

When we have hope, believing God’s promises about the reward to come, we can endure whatever trials and tests come on this side of eternity.

James 1:12

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

What It Really Means to Be #Blessed

“Blessed.” It’s a word our culture has overused and misunderstood. It’s a word that’s been so misused that it’s become a joke on social media for years. A quick search on Instagram revealed that “#blessed” has been used over 161 million times. New car! #blessed. Big house! #blessed. And maybe that’s not entirely wrong. “‘Blessedness’ has to do with well-being in life that flows from the favorable position in which one is rightly related to God.”1

We’ve gotten part of our understanding correct. We receive good gifts and recognize that we have some well-being in life. But what we often miss is that those gifts aren’t necessarily because of our right relationship with God. That’s why the psalmists and the prophets over and over again lament that the wicked prosper (see Psalm 73). Often it looks to human eyes like the wicked are ones who are #blessed.

But they are not in right relationship with God. We can’t always understand why the wicked seem to prosper, so like the psalmists we have to come before God as we wrestle with that reality. (We also need to check ourselves and consider if we’re not the righteous blessed but actually the prospering wicked. The Pharisees got it wrong; let’s take that as a warning.)

So what does James really mean when he uses the word “blessed”?

Throughout the book of James, we can hear echoes of Jesus’ ministry. Think back to the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said crazy things like, “Blessed are those who mourn,” and, “Blessed are those who are persecuted” (Matthew 5:4, 10). Being blessed doesn’t necessarily mean material possessions in this life (although it can—see Job 42:12). But it always means right standing before God, and being right before God gives us peace in this life, even in trial, because we know our reward is coming.

The Crown of Life Will Not Disappoint

James tells us that the person who is blessed is one who remains steadfast in trial, for they will receive the “crown of life.”

“The crown of life”? Really? I wonder if we’d be more motivated to endure if James instead dangled the #blessed reward of a new car or a big house. Nah. I like my house, as imperfect and outdated as the kitchen is. And I’m not a car person.

Okay, well, then maybe I’d be more motivated to endure if my endurance guaranteed eight uninterrupted hours of sleep every night. I’d take that over a new house any day!

What if the reward for endurance was to always be financially secure enough to never even have to ask how we’d pay for new brakes on the car or college tuition? I mean, I don’t need a fancy new car, but I’d like the one we have to be able to stop, ya’ know?

Or what if #blessed meant my kids would be healthy and well for the rest of their lives? Now we’re talking.

But the crown of life? Meh.

Do we brush that prize off, believing the crown of life isn’t all that exciting? I do sometimes. The crown of life sounds intangible and elusive. If we could have something we can wrap our fingers and our minds around, well then we’d maybe be more compelled to faithfully endure.

But James seemed to believe that the Jewish Christians who received his letter would be spurred on by the crown of life as their reward. Throughout the whole letter, he talks about being steadfast in trial and doing the work of living out their faith. And all for what? A gaudy tiara?

Not quite.

The metaphor here is more like the laurel wreath an athlete received after winning a race. It’s a picture of finishing—and finishing victoriously. It’s the ultimate picture of God saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The crown of life is God himself giving us not a shiny piece of jewelry, but eternal life itself—with all the glories and benefits that come along with it.

Maybe that reward still feels out of reach. Maybe it seems less appealing than money or security or health right now. But the prophets, disciples, and countless others throughout history have gone to their deaths, believing that the upside down kingdom life Jesus calls us to now would someday be worth all the hardship. Jesus himself endured the cross “for the joy set before him” (Heb. 12:2). We’re running a race, the writer of Hebrews says, and we’re running for a prize that will not disappoint.

There must be something to this crown of life. It must be worthwhile to remain steadfast, to not grow weary in doing good (Gal. 6:9), to lift our drooping hands (Heb. 12:12), to abound in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58), to not lose heart (2 Cor. 4:16), to remember the weight of the glory to come (2 Cor. 4:17).

Amen?

Clinging to Hope

We can’t remain steadfast without hope. But when we cling to hope, when we believe that our reward to come will be absolutely and completely worth it, we can endure whatever trials and tests come on this side of eternity. Our finite minds can’t fully comprehend all God will one day do—but that’s where trust comes in. Do we actually believe that the crown of life will be worth it? Will we live our lives in right standing before God, knowing that being “blessed” may not result in a reward right now?

Steadfastness requires that we give up the need for instant gratification and replace it with faithfulness and endurance as we live our Christian lives. This is not easy. It takes work. It takes humility. It takes a willingness to be uncomfortable, to mourn with others, to fight for justice, to get our heads out of the sand and be willing to live a life that’s not just about our own ease and happiness.

I’m not good at this. I like doing something and immediately reaping the reward. I don’t want to wait, and I don’t want to have to keep enduring. But if the psalmist could say in Psalm 126:5, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!”, well then I have hope that these tears you and I cry can also do their work. Just as our Lord Jesus was laid in the earth for three days and rose in victory, so our tears are put in the ground and raised to shouts of joy.

Lord, let it be so.

Remaining steadfast requires that we put our faith into action as we cling to the promises of God, come what may—because doing so and being right with God will yield a reward we cannot even fathom.

Reflect

• Read the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). Who does Jesus say is truly blessed?

• Look back at James 1:9-11. In those verses, James talks about the rich passing away. By contrast, what does the person who remains steadfast in trial receive (verse 12)? Does that reward seem worth it to you? Why or why not?

• What does it look like this week for you to remain steadfast? How is God calling you to put your faith into action, even if it’s hard?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Joy, steadfastness, and spiritual maturity come from knowing and trusting that God is who he says he is.

God Is Who He Says He Is

When my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I questioned whether or not God was actually good. I’d grown up believing in my head that he was, but I had to wrestle with that truth in my soul. In the months after her diagnosis, I remember singing songs at church about God’s goodness, and at best, I’d hum along while holding back tears. Sometimes, I had to leave the room altogether. I’d read Scripture passages like Psalm 136:1, and I couldn’t help but think, Really, God? Are you good? Because I’m not so sure right now.

For many of us, current events have probably raised that same question. Maybe we wonder if God is really in control or why there’s so much evil in the world. Maybe we’re not sure if we can really trust him or we’re uncertain, even in the age of information, what’s actually true. Maybe Christians––who are supposed to point to God’s goodness––applaud vitriol and violence, and we can’t help but think, If that’s what God is like, I don’t want him. Maybe our emotions, what others tell us, or our circumstances leave us feeling tossed around in doubt, confusion, and discouragement.

But in the beginning of his letter, James reminds us that joy, steadfastness, and spiritual maturity come from knowing and trusting that God is who he says he is, and he will do what he said he’ll do.

Count It All Joy: James 1:2-4

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Count it all joy. What a crazy idea, right? James tells us that we don’t have to wait for suffering to end to have joy. Joy comes in the midst of it because our suffering isn’t pointless. God actually uses it to produce something worthwhile and eternal. As Paul says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Honestly, that idea is hard for me to grasp. Affliction doesn’t feel light or momentary. Heartache weighs heavy, and even when we make it through one trial, another is bound to be waiting for us. And then when I get my head out of my own little bubble and see the depths of suffering I cannot even comprehend, I can’t help but think, How in the world could this ever produce something good? Evil seems too pervasive, injustice too great, grief too deep.

On the flip side, sometimes these verses have been reduced to the idea that we can put on a happy face and go about our days pasting on a smile. “Be happy!” we’re told, but all we really want is to crawl into our beds and weep. As I walked through a department store years ago, a well-meaning stranger remarked that I should smile more. About an hour earlier I had found out my mom likely had cancer and would have major surgery two days later—on Christmas Day.

I was not about to smile.

But James isn’t telling us to put on a facade and ignore our pain. He was no stranger to trials, and neither were his readers. He was the brother of Jesus, which meant he saw the deep suffering Jesus and his family went through, and eventually James himself was killed for his faith.1 He’s reminding us that we truly rejoice, because trials will form in us a spiritual maturity (“perfect and complete”) that is strengthened as we remain under the weight of our suffering.

The word “steadfastness” in this passage literally means “to remain under.” For someone lifting weights, they have to remain under the weight in order to grow strong. The more they remain under, the more endurance and strength grow. So it is with our faith. Even though we struggle under the heaviness of our pain, we can have joy now, because God doesn’t waste anything––including our heartache. He can bring a harvest even from our tears (Psalm 126:5-6).

To be clear, there are some trials from which God gives us a way of escape. We don’t need to stay in an abusive relationship, avoid getting help for depression, or endlessly punish ourselves as some sort of penance for our failures. James isn’t talking about “remaining under” in situations that God has provided a way out. That’d be like staying in a burning building when we should be fleeing to safety. And if he hasn’t yet provided a way out, that doesn’t mean we can’t ask him. The psalms David wrote are full of pleas to escape his enemies and for God to rescue.

But as long as we live in this fallen world, we will experience suffering. So let’s suffer well. Instead of endlessly chasing worldly comfort and ease, which are fleeting, we can stand firm. We can be steady no matter what happens, not because we are so strong in and of ourselves, but because we’re holding onto—and being held by—the one who can never be shaken.

So how do we know when to remain under? How can we actually live with joy when life is hard? How do we learn to suffer well?

That answer comes in the next few verses.

We Need Wisdom: James 1:5-8

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

If we’re going to endure trials in a way that produces spiritual maturity that lasts for eternity, we need wisdom.

Wisdom in this verse refers to “an understanding of the ways of God and a readiness to act according to those ways.”2 We have to see our circumstances the way God sees them, and then we act accordingly.

Too often, we interpret who we think God is based on our finite understanding of our circumstances. We lose a loved one, and so we doubt God’s goodness. Or we struggle financially and wonder if God really is generous. We see chaos and believe God must not be in control.

But we’ve gotten it backwards. Instead of looking at God through the lens of our circumstances, we need to look at our circumstances through the lens of who God truly is. We need to see our circumstances, our trials, our world in light of God’s character. We need to continually ask for wisdom so that God can sharpen our blurry vision to see things the way he does. If we don’t, we end up tossed around like a wave of the sea. Our understanding of our life, the world around us, and God himself shakes and trembles, because we have nothing solid on which to stand.

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah confronted the people of Israel. He said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (verse 21). The Israelites were like a wave of the sea getting tossed around. They were limping around, not fully trusting the LORD. We cannot live steadfast lives and remain under when we limp between different opinions.3 We have to know and hold onto what’s true—and that requires wisdom, wisdom that comes from a God who is kind and generous and will grant us wisdom if we ask.

The problem is, instead of relying on our unshakeable God and his Word, we often put our trust elsewhere.

Trusting What Lasts Forever: James 1:9-11

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”

James gives us an example of how our wisdom (or lack thereof) can play out in our actual lives. In this instance, he’s talking about money. We cannot trust our money, because it will pass away. We can’t find our security in what we earn. Instead, the poor and humble can often more easily recognize their dependence on God and see that their security is found only in him. Like Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Boasting in ourselves and our own accomplishments ultimately gets us nowhere, because our boasting is only as good as the subject of our boasting. But we can boast in who God is and what he’s doing—he’s vindicating the lowly and humbling the powerful.4 He’s putting everyone in their rightful place and forming in us something that will last forever.

These verses echo what God says through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:7-8. “The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

We can’t trust wealth or put our hope in comfort or ease this side of eternity. Doing so is like the foolish man building his house on the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Instead, we can trust our faithful God and his Word. He will never be shaken, and his Word will stand forever.

How Will We Respond?

One commentator wrote about this passage, “Most trials don’t ‘call ahead’ to announce themselves. Their sudden presence in our lives demands a ready spiritual response.”5

What will our response be when suffering comes? What has our response been? Doubt, being tossed around, trusting in fleeting things? Or joy, steadfastness, and spiritual maturity?

If we want to respond with joy and endurance, if we want to be spiritually mature, we have to know and trust our God. We need to see life through the lens of who he is. If we don’t know who he is and what he says in his Word, our vision will always be skewed. We will have no steady anchor to cling to. We can’t hold onto truth we don’t know—and so then we’re left flailing around, at the mercy of cirumstance.

But as we cling to the true God, we find joy because we know he’s working. We find steadiness because he’s unshakeable. And we grow in our faith because we’re rooted in him, all along becoming more fully who he has created us to be—a joy-filled and steadfast person who displays his character and demonstrates his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Reflect

• What trials are you dealing with right now that God may be wanting to use to strengthen you?

• In what areas of your life do you need to ask for wisdom? Where do you struggle with doubt?

• What aspects of God’s character have you wrestled with?

• What other Scripture passages speak truth about those aspects of his character? Write down a few passages that remind you of who he is. (If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at Exodus 34:6, Psalm 23, Psalm 121, or Isaiah 40-41.)

• What does it look like for you to be steadfast, “remaining under,” this week?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

A Punch in the Gut

Back in 2020, I released a blog post series on the book of James. It started simply as a way for me to study the text more deeply. Earlier in the year, I’d been working through James’ letter with a group of friends, and I wanted to dive in further. As with most lessons, I learn them better when I write about them.

In the almost six years since I originally wrote these posts, I’ve found myself returning to James many times. This letter is only five chapters long, but it’s such a beautiful, practical book that helps us figure out how our faith is supposed to show up in our everyday lives. What we do with our hands and feet, our mind and heart, our mouth and our money either points to the God who is making all things new…or it shows that we might not know him that well after all.

Tim Mackie called the book of James, “a beautifully crafted punch in the gut.” I think that’s accurate. In 2026 (just like in 2020 or, for that matter, A.D. 40 or 50), we may feel like a punch in the gut is the last thing we need. But while James writes hard truths that may be painful at times, these are words we must hear, understand, and put into practice. He pushes many of us out of our complacency, helps us put our faith into action, and brings us to our knees before God.

And if a punch in the gut makes us fall on our knees before our Maker, well, maybe that’s exactly what we need.

Laying the Groundwork

As we get started on this series, I want to lay some groundwork.

First, this series isn’t necessarily intended to replace any of your own personal study or Bible reading. Grab your Bible and dig into the pages of Scripture on your own. I wrote these posts not as an expert but as someone working through these verses alongside you. Read, pray, and study for yourself—don’t just take my word for it. Like the Bereans in Acts 17, we must constantly test what others are saying against the Word of God, “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Reading what others have to say about Scripture can be immensely helpful (and I hope you find that to be true here), but nothing can ever replace reading the living and active Word of God.

Secondly, there is so much in these passages that I’m not going to cover. For the sake of clarity and word count, I’m going to focus on certain themes and verses. We can (and should!) spend our lives diving into Scripture, but even after a lifetime, we won’t plumb the depths of all there is––and how beautiful is that?

God has made himself known to us and has given us resources like his Word to know him better. But if we think we can comprehend him in all his fullness, we’ve then formed him in our image and attempted to shove the infinite into our finite minds. And I don’t want to serve a finite god.

Finally, for those of you who are planners and schedulers, here’s the layout of what’s to come. Each post can function as a stand-alone read, but I’d also love for you to join me as we walk through the whole book.

• Part 1: Laying the Groundwork, James 1:1

• Part 2: James 1:2-11

• Part 3: James 1:12

• Part 4: James 1:13-18

• Part 5: James 1:19-27

• Part 6: James 2:1-13

• Part 7: James 2:14-26

• Part 8: James 3:1-12

• Part 9: James 3:13-18

• Part 10: James 4:1-12

• Part 11: James 4:13-5:6

• Part 12: James 5:7-12

• Part 13: James 5:13-20, Putting it All Together

With all that said, let’s dig in.

Author, Date, and Audience: James 1:1

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.”

Okay, James 1:1 might not sound like the most exciting verse to study. But when we’re looking at Scripture, it’s helpful to understand some background first, such as the genre, author (if that is given to us), original audience, and date written (if possible). Sometimes, there’s information we don’t know, but whatever we can know is helpful as we interpret and apply the passage to our own lives.

James is a letter most likely written by James, the brother of Jesus, to Jewish Christians. He doesn’t present a systematic theology (the way Paul does in Romans, for example). He’s writing primarily to people who are already followers of Christ, exhorting them to put their faith into action.

Scholars differ on the exact timing of the letter, but if Jesus’ brother James (as opposed to James the son of Zebedee) is the author, it would have been written before he was martyred in A.D. 62. The most convincing argument I’ve read dates the book in the mid- to late-forties, prior to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.1

Whether or not the letter was written before or after the Jerusalem Council, looking at Acts 15 alongside the book of James gives us a helpful perspective on the issues in the early church—especially divisions between Jews and Gentiles. One of the main points Acts 15 addresses is that, “precisely because God has fulfilled his covenant with Israel in sending Jesus as Messiah, the covenant family is now thrown open to all, without distinction.”2

Why does this matter? James—who writes to Jewish Christians (“to the twelve tribes”) scattered throughout the world (“in the Dispersion”)—calls his readers to live out their faith. He does not mince words when he says that true faith has to be active (James 2:17). And part of actively living out that faith means demonstrating that the kingdom of God is no longer for one group or another. It’s not for Jews only. It’s not for the wealthy only. It’s not for those who seem like they deserve it or those who appear put together. Faith isn’t demonstrated by one’s background, the people they hang out with, ethnicity, or how well they adhere to religious rules.

Instead, if we actually have true faith, if we’ve received “the implanted word” (1:21), we will live it out in tangible ways—especially by loving our neighbor as ourselves (2:8). We will serve those in need (1:27), avoid partiality (2:1), use our speech to build others up (3:1-12), demonstrate the meekness of wisdom (3:13), not quarrel and fight (4:1-4), humble ourselves (4:10), remain steadfast in trials (5:11), and pray (5:13-16). (This is not an exhaustive list.)

(Church, how about that for a list of 2026 resolutions? Serving the needy, avoiding partiality, building others up in speech, being meek in wisdom, not quarreling, humbling ourselves, remaining steadfast, and praying. Lord, let it be so. And some people think the Bible isn’t relevant anymore…)

Back to the main point…

True faith for James’ readers isn’t demonstrated by being a Jew and being circumcised. And today, being a follower of Jesus isn’t demonstrated by merely saying we’re a Christian or keeping up certain appearances without bearing true fruit.

If we are truly followers of Jesus, if we truly believe the faith we proclaim, we will live it out in our actual lives. And James gets super practical as he explains in these five chapters exactly what that looks like.

A Word of Encouragement

As I skim through the book of James, it’s honestly a little overwhelming to me, because I see myself failing in every area he addresses. I don’t always love others well, I show favoritism, I’m prideful, and I often want to give up when life gets hard.

But James knows his readers won’t get it right immediately. That’s why he’s sending this letter in the first place. They need guidance and help, practical tools and spiritual encouragement. Like the early Christians, maturity in our faith won’t happen overnight. But little by little, we can and will grow in our faith if we humble ourselves before God and stay the course, living out the message of truth that has taken root in our souls (1:18, 21).

Dive Deeper This Week

This week, read through the book of James at least once. Get a sense of the big picture and the main themes he addresses. You might want to print it out so you can circle, highlight, and write notes. Mark key phrases, questions you have, or repeated words.

Then, I suggest going back and reading James 1:2-11 several times, which is the text we’ll be digging into next.

I also suggest watching this overview video from The Bible Project. It’s immensely helpful for understanding James as a whole.

And finally, take time to pray. This is easier said than done, at least for me. Pray that God would show us what he wants to teach us. Pray for clarity and wisdom in studying. And pray that we will be able to better live out our faith wherever God has placed us.

Get ready, friends. This study of James is going to be a beautiful, needed, and hopefully fruitful punch in the gut.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

A couple years ago, I worked through the Bible chronologically with The Bible Recap. And if you’ve ever read through the Bible, you’ll know that at one point in the Old Testament, it seems like you’re doomed to an endless cycle of depressing narratives and prophecies about the disobedience of Israel and God’s subsequent judgment. (If you’re embarking on a one-year Bible reading plan in 2026, prepare yourself!)

These are hard passages to read. Taken on their own, these narratives usually don’t have happy endings. They’re filled with violence and gore and suffering.

But it didn’t have to be that way. We know that suffering is a part of living in a broken and fallen world, but for ancient Israel and Judah, they heaped so much grief upon their own shoulders because of their rebellion against Yahweh.

Many of these stories and prophecies in the Old Testament say something to the effect of, “But Israel would not listen.” God said to do one thing; they said no.

For example, 2 Kings 17:13-14 says, “Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, ‘Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets. But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God.”

2 Chronicles 24:19 says, “Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.”

Judges 2:17 says, “Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.”

Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look,’ and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

Israel rejected God’s ways, running after something they thought was better. And what did they give up in that pursuit of their own agenda and their own idols? The reluctant prophet, Jonah, tells us.

Jonah 2:8 says, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”

Now, I’m not necessarily erecting shrines or bowing to a golden image, but there are plenty of ways I choose to worship and trust something other than God. I pay regard to vain idols in my own 21st century way, and I forsake what God wants to give. He says, “Do this,” and I too often say, “No.”

God’s way offers Sabbath, but I bow to the god of productivity.

God calls me to live in community, but many times serve the idol of pride and self-sufficiency.

God asks me to fix my eyes on Him, but my gaze is transfixed by the glowing rectangle in my hands.

God reminds me he’s in control, but I demand that I should be in control.

God says worship him alone, but I put people or power or political ideologies or pride on a pedestal they were never meant to stand on.

The truth is you can’t run away from God and towards steadfast love at the same time, because God is love. He is, “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).

What idols could be worth giving that up for?

But here’s the even greater truth. We’ve all walked away from the love of God…and yet his love pursues us. Over and over again in the Old Testament narratives and in the prophets, we see Israel’s sin–but then God’s compassion (see also passages like 2 Kings 13:23, Isaiah 14:1).

Lamentations 3:19-24 says:

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

And Micah 7:18-19 says:

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.

He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.

And those prophecies and so many more culminate in the ultimate demonstration of love shown in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the one who took the punishment we deserved (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). We ran away, so God came after us. What a grace.

I don’t want to run away from steadfast love, and Jonah’s words offer a convicting reminder to let go of the idols we’re so tempted to worship. Giving up what God offers will never be worth it.

Yet even so, even when I fail, I can hold onto the hope that God’s steadfast love runs after me, even when I’m running away.

Thanks be to God.

I am a very goal-oriented person. I love making lists, day-dreaming about how I’ll be different 12 months from now, jotting down a vision for where I want to be in five years. Add to that a new planner with crisp, clean pages and a pack of high quality pens, and I am one happy girl.

The only problem comes about a month later when I realize how unrealistic my goals were. The kids woke up extra early, so I didn’t write every morning like I’d hoped. A family crisis arose, so I ordered takeout instead of cooking my way through that one cookbook like I’d intended. My body decided to shut down and get sick, so I missed those workouts I’d planned.

Real life so often seems to get in the way of living my best life.

Maybe you can relate?

On an episode of the The Lazy Genius podcast, host Kendra Adachi talked with author Kelly Corrigan about how not everything in your life needs to be optimized. “You don’t have to be in this constant state of self-improvement,” Kelly said.

It’s so simple, but some of us (me!) can all too easily heap goal after goal after goal on our backs until our knees buckle under the weight of our own expectations. Our overzealous desire for self-improvement leaves us worn down and discouraged months or even weeks later.

But sometimes you just get to be a person. Certain things in our lives can be what they are without optimizing them to death.

Just the other day as I was packing my kids’ lunches I thought, “I should really get more creative about what I give them.”

But why?

I assemble decently balanced meals they will (mostly) eat. Their lunches are fine. While what I feed my kids does matter to me in general, in this season, taking their school lunches to the next level really doesn’t matter, at least in my house. They don’t care. I don’t care. And the only reason I even thought of stepping up my lunch game was because I saw a few Instagram reels showcasing lunches that I thought, for a moment, I should aspire to make.

It’s a silly example, I know, but especially as we move into a new year, so many of us have a tendency to want to improve every single little aspect of our lives. And while self-improvement is important, maybe we don’t need to improve every area of life in every season of life.

I’ll still set goals and use my new planner. But as I do, I want to live my real life instead of constantly chasing after a version I will never attain.

If your goals and expectations can easily get out of control like mine, maybe this year, we can focus on the areas of growth that are most important to us––and then let the rest go. Maybe this year, we can take a deep breath, release what we don’t need, and finally let “good enough” actually be good enough.

Cheers to a new year, friends. May it be one filled with creativity, joy, and plenty of grace along the way.

Merry Christmas, friends. I don’t know what this year brought you––if it was full of joy and smiles and laughter or if you celebrated Jesus’ birth at deathbeds and in waiting rooms. Maybe all of the above.

Or maybe after a morning of gift-opening, you’re working through the weight of unmet expectations, tired toddlers, and bickering relatives.

The holidays can beautiful, fun celebrations. But they can also be…a lot. Christmas can contain reminders of grief, and exhaustion may be a burden you can’t seem to shake. This year for me marks 15 years since my mom had surgery on Christmas morning for what turned out to be pancreatic cancer. She died just over two years later, and even though I’ve had more than a decade without her, this year felt particular tender. I really miss her.

But in the middle of all the emotions, we’re not left stuck in our sorrow. We can rejoice––not because sheer optimism will save us, but because Jesus did. The stories in Luke 1-2 show us we have a powerful and merciful Savior. We have a God who keeps his promises and who uses the weary, the rejected, and the lowly in the process. And as we wait for him to fix all that’s broken, to fully bring his kingdom to earth as it is in heaven, we can know the waiting will be worth it.

As I did research for The Weary World Rejoices study, I came across a poetic summary of the Christmas story that Kenneth Bailey included in his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. It’s a hymn written by the late D.T. Niles, a Sri Lankan pastor and evangelist, and I wanted to share this one last thing to conclude our study. Niles wrote:

On a day when men were counted,
God became the son of man;
That his name in every census
Would be entered, was his plan.
God, the Lord of all Creation,
Humble takes a creature’s place;
He whose form no man has witnessed,
Has today a human face.

When there shone the star of David
In the spangled eastern sky,
Kings arrived to pay their homage
To the Christ, the Lord most high.

Yet not all, for lo there soundeth
Through the streets a fearful cry,
For a king who will not worship
Has decreed that Christ must die.

Yet it’s Christmas, and we greet Him,
Coming even now to save;
For the Lord of our salvation
Was not captive to the grave.
Out of Egypt came the Saviour Man’s Emmanuel to be,
Christmas shines with Easter glory, Glory of eternity.

In our weariness, may we never forget that Christmas shines with Easter glory. That is a reason to rejoice.

Amen?

Want a printable version of this entire advent study? Click here. Use code SUBSTACK to get it for just $5. (The Substack version of this study will remain completely free.)

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Prefer pen and paper? Get a printable version of this entire advent study here. Use code SUBSTACK to get it for just $5.

Before you begin, read this week’s Scripture passage: Luke 2:22-40. I also recommend reading all of Luke 1-2:40 if you haven’t yet.

Yahweh Saves

Mary’s body starts to regain strength as the wounds of childbearing heal. But the weariness that comes with motherhood sinks deep in her bones. The last nine months have been a lot to process, to say the least. Yet the child is here, the promised one has finally arrived. She rests and nurses and cares for her newborn son with awe and maybe a dose of fear. Though mothers have been raising children for thousands of years, no one else has ever raised the Son of God.

Eight days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph take him to be circumcised. They’re faithful Jews who follow the Law, after all, and this is a requirement for all Jewish males.1 Jesus is truly one of the people and now bears the physical sign of the covenant God made to Abraham.2 Like everyone else, he’s born under the Law, subject to its standards and requirements. Yet he will be the only one able to perfectly keep it—and therefore able to redeem others under it.3 Even as an eight-day-old baby, he shows he came not to get rid of the Law––but to fulfill it.4

This child, like his cousin John (Luke 1:59-63), is named at eight days old.5 They call him Jesus, meaning, “Yahweh saves.” He would not simply be one who points to the salvation God brings; he would be the very embodiment of it. Jesus himself is salvation, a truth Joseph was told by an angel6—and a truth about to be affirmed in the temple.

“God With Us” in the Temple

Mary and Joseph are in Jerusalem, about five miles north of Bethlehem. Mary was considered “unclean” for the first seven days after childbirth, until Jesus’ circumcision. And even after that, she hasn’t been allowed to enter the temple or touch anything “holy” before today, 40 days postpartum.7 Now, it’s finally time for the purification ritual.8 Mary is required to offer a lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or turtledove as a sin offering. The couple are poor, though, so the Law allows for another pigeon or turtledove to be offered in place of the lamb.

They enter the temple, going only as far as the Court of Women with baby and birds in tow.9 But they’re here. Jesus, the Son of God, is in the temple.

Back in Ezekiel, God shows the prophet a vision of the presence of God leaving the temple, part of the judgment on Israel for their disobedience. Eventually the second temple was built, and after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph and Jesus stand in what is now known as Herod’s Temple. Yet for hundreds of years, there had never been any mention of God returning to dwell in the temple again. Scripture never speaks of God’s presence filling this place.10

Until now.

After generations of waiting in silence, after about six hundred years longing for God to speak and the Messiah to come, God’s presence has returned––but in the form of a tiny baby. “God with us” and “Yahweh saves” is now carried through the gates in the arms of a young mother.11

At the time of the first Passover in Exodus, God told Moses that the firstborn should be consecrated, or set aside as holy, to Yahweh. While God struck down the firstborn in every house in Egypt, he passed over the houses of Israel. For generations, the Jewish people remembered this by bringing their firstborn before the LORD.12

This humble child born of poor yet pious parents would be no different—except this firstborn son would be perfectly and fully holy in a way no one else ever was before him. As the angel told Mary, he “will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).13

While this was a normal ritual for a mother and firstborn son, it’s a first for Mary and Joseph. Their first boy being consecrated, Mary’s first purification ritual after having a child, the first time they’re in the temple since Jesus’ birth…no doubt, with all those firsts came nerves, stress, and exhaustion.

What’s going through Mary’s mind? Is Jesus crying inconsolably while they tried to complete the requirements of the Law? Does Mary have to stop and nurse? Have people heard about her pregnancy? Are others whispering about how she could possibly set foot in this temple after her supposed sin of adultery? Are people giving Joseph the side-eye, still questioning why he remains with this sinful woman? Does Mary feel her hormones raging or feel inadequate as a new mother?

Maybe most of the visit is uneventful, or maybe it’s filled with whispers and stares, crying and consoling. But in the middle of it all, the family encounters a man named Simeon.

Simeon Meets the Savior

Simeon is faithful and devout. Life at that time wasn’t easy, but he had been expectantly waiting for the comfort and hope of Israel to arrive. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. So the Spirit led him to the temple that day. This divine meeting may have looked like a coincidence to anyone else. But the sovereign will of Father and the prompting of the Holy Spirit arranged for Simeon to meet the Son of God.

Mary, Joseph, and Simeon likely stand in the Court of Women, a place where both men and women could be, but women could not go beyond. Simeon picks up the child and says, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

God, you can take me now! I’ve seen him, I’ve seen “Yahweh saves.” I’ve seen the one who will rescue us—and not just Israel, but all people!

Even after all Mary and Joseph have gone through, Simeon’s words make them marvel (Luke 2:33). This stranger has just seen them, picked up their child, and declared their tiny baby the Savior—not just of the Jews, but of the Gentiles!

How could he have known, except through the power of the Holy Spirit?

These new parents hide one story after another in their hearts, God graciously and generously showing them that others know the truth, too. Others have been waiting for the Messiah. Others believe.

Simeon continues with a warning to Mary that not everyone will be happy about Jesus. He’ll have many against him, and “a sword will pierce through (Mary’s) soul also” (Luke 1:35). This child will expose who people really are. He’ll reveal the truth about people’s hearts, and some won’t like that. He may also be alluding to the pain Mary will experience as she watches her son die a criminal’s death just over three decades later. She couldn’t know the gravity and grief of all that will happen, but she knows this journey won’t be easy. It never has been. Yet God has always been faithful.

In the temple, Simeon has the boldness and Holy Spirit-empowered belief to recognize the baby brought in by a poor young couple is the salvation God has promised. He is salvation not just for the Jews, but for all people. Simeon offers a promise and a warning to Mary and declares right there in this public and holy place that the son of a supposedly adulterous woman is the answer the world has been waiting for all along.

A Faithful Widow

An elderly woman named Anna arrives on the scene.14 She’s a prophetess and a widow15 who has been faithful to Yahweh for decades. She’s in the temple all the time, waiting for the Messiah and worshipping as she waits. She prays and fasts day and night, and she is there when Mary and Joseph come with Jesus.

It must have taken great endurance and faith to not give up on God after all those years. Life in the first century can be hard and cruel, especially for a widow. For decades, Anna hasn’t had a spouse to take care of her or provide financial security. Yet she dedicates her life to God. She has been waiting, but not idly. She prays and fasts and worships and prophecies. Now, like Simeon, her waiting is shown to be worth it.

Luke tells us, “And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Anna starts boldly witnessing about who God is and what he’s doing. He’s here! Everyone look!

Anna gives thanks to God and tells everyone who will listen. Maybe some people think she’s crazy. Maybe others say this old widow had been alone for a bit too long, or they wave her off or argue with her. But maybe some believe. Maybe her boldness in the temple opens the eyes of many who have been longing the same way she had been, others who have been suffering all their lives and crying out for the Messiah. Maybe her words help them see that hope has arrived.

No matter their response, Anna knows who he is. She knows all the longing and waiting, all the prophecies of old are culminating in this moment, with this child, the one who will bring redemption.

She knows the Savior is here.

The Nunc Dimittis

Simeon’s words are known as the Nunc Dimittis, a title that comes from the Latin translation of his beginning words, “Now you dismiss.”

There are three main claims in Simeon’s words. First, he says that through Jesus, salvation has come. Second, he says that Jesus is a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. Third, he warns Mary about the anguish she will one day experience.16

Simeon’s words recall the Old Testament, especially the prophecies of Isaiah, as he looks at this baby boy before him. Isaiah 52:10 says, “...and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Jesus is that salvation, and Simeon now sees it with his own two eyes. And that salvation would be a light to the Gentiles, those who were not part of God’s chosen people, Israel. But they are invited to see and believe the salvation Yahweh has provided. Israel, already knowing the promises and the prophecies, gets to be the bearer of that salvation, the nation from whom redemption has come. That is their true glory.

Isaiah 40:5 says, “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 42:6 says, “I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,” and 49:6 says, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

The light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel has come. He’s here, but some won’t like him. Isaiah offered a similar warning saying, “And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken” (Isaiah 8:14-15).

The point is this: God has been working out his plan of salvation since the beginning. He was never caught off guard by the waywardness of humanity. He didn’t scramble to fix it all by sending us Jesus. God knew what he was doing, and he has graciously given us the threads of Scripture to follow so we can glimpse what he’s weaving together.

Simeon’s words and Anna’s recognition of the Savior (although we don’t have a direct quote from her) are one more thread we get to see in the tapestry of salvation history. In the end, there will be no frayed edges, no loose ends. We may not see the whole picture now, but he gives us enough to say with confidence, “Yes! This is it! This makes sense! I see what’s going on and it has to be true!”

In Luke’s second book, the book of Acts, we read a story of Paul and Barnabas witnessing. Both Jews and Gentiles gather on the Sabbath to hear what these men have to say, and Luke tells us the Jews are jealous. The Gentiles receive the same message meant for Israel. Luke writes:

And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Salvation through Jesus Christ is for all people. We have all gone our own way, choosing to reject God and do life as we wish. But that life is no life at all; it is death.

And so a Jewish baby was born under the Law perfectly fulfilled what no person ever could. He lived, died, and rose again from the dead, defeating evil and giving us victory and eternal life.17

This is the hope we cling to, the salvation we need. Jesus is “God with Us,” the Savior we have waited for. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. This is why we can rejoice, just as Anna and Simeon did, just as the Gentiles did as they listened to Paul and Barnabas.

At the same time, we continue to wait. We live and work and go through our days with expectant hope that God will do what he’s promised and ultimately that Christ will come again and establish “a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

Like Simeon and Anna waited thousands of years ago, we wait for Jesus’ second coming. And as we do, we rejoice––because as the threads of Scripture have shown all along, our waiting will be worth it.

Thanks be to God.

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Reflect

1. Simeon and Anna exemplified patient hope as they waited for the Savior. But in the process, life wasn’t easy. Suffering was normal. Their waiting involved a cruel king, Roman occupation, grief and widowhood for Anna, and all the struggles of the first century. Yet they worshipped and prayed and lived their lives as faithful followers of Yahweh. They lived in a way that looked forward to the day salvation would come, fully expecting God would make good on his promises. And when that happened, when they saw salvation with their own eyes, they were ready. They recognized. They believed.

As we wait for God to do what he’s promised in our own lives, and as we wait for the return of Christ someday, we don’t sit idly by. Waiting requires faithful living.

What does it look like for you to wait faithfully in this season? What do you need to be doing as you wait?

For further study, look at Mark 13:32-37, Romans 5:3-5, Titus 2:11-14, Hebrews 10:19-25, James 5:7-11, 1 Peter 1 (all of 1 Peter, honestly).

2. As we read their stories, we can almost hear Simeon and Anna exhale. Simeon’s words come with a cry of relief, and Anna can’t stop telling everyone around about this child. Can you imagine the excitement? Can you imagine the frantic witnessing that Simeon and Anna must have been doing? I picture them turning from one person to the other, interrupting conversations in the temple courts. Did you see? Have you heard? He’s here! He’s the one!

In your life, what have you been waiting for? What have you been longing for, and do your deepest longings line up with God’s heart? Bring those things before God. Ask for patience. Ask for wisdom. Ask for belief like Simeon and faith like Anna.

For he “is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness” (2 Peter 3:9).

Whatever God has promised to us, whatever he makes us wait for, will be worth it.

3. More than anything else, we wait and long for the day when Jesus will come again, when God’s kingdom will be fully established on earth as it is in heaven, when oppression will cease, justice will come, death will be swallowed up. We will exhale like Simeon and proclaim with joy like Anna. We will say, like the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).

Take a few moments to reflect on that truth. Look at Isaiah 25:6-9, and meditate on the relief and joy we will not be able to contain when we, too, meet our Savior face to face.

What a day that will be.

A Prayer

by

O Maker of time, may we be patient in hope, 
like the wise prophetess
and the graying prophet.
Let us fix our eyes on love
so that we may see You
when it’s easier to stop looking. 
Help us learn from the stories of old, 
for nestled into every holy wrinkle, 
and sacred scar
is a God who makes all things new.
 
We thank you for the beauty
of tissue paper skin
and arthritic hands
tenderly embracing in wonder
the powder-soft skin of a newborn king. 
You are the God of beginnings
and endings––
and holy couplings.
In the crown of gray hairs
and the halo of wispy newborn curls, 
You have made all,
You are in all,
and You are all, O Lord.
 
We admit to losing our footing,
swept away on the winds and whims of the world.
Anchor us in the hope of something bigger––
an ancient, brand-new truth
that You are still breaking through today.
Let us come to you in our waiting
and in our wonderings and our wanderings, too. 
Breathe into our hearts a gentle turning to the coming king.
Let us be faithful in the wait,
and honest in our weakness.
 
Sometimes we hear ourselves cry out––
How long, Lord?
How long must we wait for You to break in? 
And we wonder what it was like, too,
to walk the temple floors,
slow step by slow step,
waiting for the long-expected Messiah.
We wonder, too, what it was like
to feel his cheek with the pad of a wrinkled finger,
to watch his chest rise and fall
against our own labored breath.
 
You, O God, are the giver of every breath. 
Fill our lungs with anticipation
that we may see the glory to come,
now and forevermore.

Prefer pen and paper? Get a printable version of this entire advent study here. Use code SUBSTACK to get it for just $5.

Before you begin, read this week’s Scripture passage: Luke 2:1-21. I also recommend reading all of Luke 1-2:40 if you haven’t yet.

The Birth of Jesus

The cruel, crazy, and pro-Roman King Herod rules over Israel. And now, to make matters worse, Caesar Augustus has decreed that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. A census matters for determining taxes—and with taxes comes corruption and oppression. It’s bad enough to be forced to pay money to Herod. But to have to pay Rome? That cuts even deeper. The census shows just how helpless Israel is in the face of imperial power. Rome rules, and the census they force on the people is a source of grief, shame, and struggle.1

Mary and Joseph, a couple scandalously expecting a child, have to make the 85-90 mile journey to Bethlehem where Joseph (and possibly Mary) grew up.2 He likely owns property there and needs to return to register––even though he and Mary live in Nazareth.3 Because she conceived out of wedlock, he takes a social risk by sticking by her. He could have justifiably divorced her. Yet he chooses to believe he should take Mary as his wife because, as an angel told him in a dream, “That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:20).

Joseph and Mary probably still have family and friends in Bethlehem. They’re not strangers to this place now bustling with activity. But while they may be uniting with family, it’s not a happy occasion. They bear shame, and the political climate is tenuous at best. Maybe the arrival of the couple keeps the rumor mill churning. Maybe as they walk through the town, they hear whispers about Mary’s pregnancy. Did you hear about Mary? Who did she sleep with? Why did Joseph stay with her!?

Maybe they can also hear the murmurs of the crowds as people complain about those blasted Romans. The Jews must keep their complaints quiet, though, unless they want to face the wrath of the empire. Hopelessness hangs over the nation, and the emperor insists on making his power over the Jews known—as if their lack of autonomy wasn’t already a gaping wound for Israel. To Rome, the Jews are nothing, an insect crushed under the foot of a powerful regime.

Mary and Joseph most likely find their way to a relative’s home. The guest room (or katalyma, often translated “inn”) is full. So the hosts make space in the family room. Mary and Joseph are not left out on the streets. They’re not wandering around seeing “No Vacancy” signs all through town, as Christmas pageants and storybooks often suggest. The guest room is full, so the hosts pull out an extra set of sheets and blow up an air mattress—except instead of sheets and an air mattress it’s a manger spread with fresh hay. The stable for the animals is right next to the family room, after all, so there’s a manger handy in most Middle Eastern villagers’ homes.

It’ll have to do.4

When it’s time for Mary to give birth, the men get out of the way, and the women and possibly a village midwife prepare. It’s Mary’s first child. It’s an unseemly pregnancy. The political climate is chaotic. She’s away from her home. And Mary knows she’s about to give birth to the Son of God.5

Mary feels the searing pain of contractions, the mounting pressure in her body, the exhaustion deep in her bones. She, too, bears the curse of pain in childbearing. God told Eve, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16). Did she know the baby she bore in pain would be the one who would someday reverse even that part of the curse?

Mary gives birth, wraps Jesus in long cloth strips, and lays him in the manger.6 It sounds so quick and easy, but labor and childbirth doesn’t come easy. Nothing about the young virgin’s entrance into motherhood nor the entrance of the Messiah has been easy. It’s been a long road for Mary, a long road for Israel.

But finally, the Savior is here.

Good News for Lowly Shepherds

While Mary and Joseph start their unexpected lives as a family of three, a group of shepherds watch over their sheep at night. It’s warm-weather season in Israel, so it’s best to let the flocks graze at night instead of in the heat of the day.7

Shepherds are a lowly, despised, ragtag group of people. They’re known for being dishonest. By some, they’re hated. They’re unclean according to the Law, poor laborers trying to hire themselves out to put a little more food on the table.8

It’s pitch black out, quiet except for the bleating of sheep and the banter of the shepherds. Maybe they’re arguing over grazing space or keeping an eye on the wild animal in the distance. It’s an ordinary night...until BOOM! Out of nowhere, an angel appears––a majestic being surrounded by the glory of the Lord (Luke 2:8)! The glory of the Lord!

This is reason to tremble and panic.

The glory of the LORD is what Moses asked to see hundreds of years before, and God put Moses “in the cleft of the rock” and covered him with his hand, only showing Moses his back (Exodus 33:18-23). Exodus 40:34-38 tells of when the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle, and when it did, even Moses couldn’t enter. The glory of the LORD filled Solomon’s temple, and the priests couldn’t “stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:11).

The glory of the LORD, the display of his greatness, beauty, perfection and holiness, is not something to trifle with or ignore. It evokes fear and awe, humility and worship.

Ezekiel 10 speaks of how the glory of God left the temple, and the prophet, Isaiah, told of a day when God’s glory would once again shine upon the people (Isaiah 60:1). Those in darkness would see the light (Isaiah 9:2), a prophecy, unbeknownst to the shepherds, that Zechariah echoed just a few months before this at the birth of his own son (Luke 1:79). For generations, the Israelites had been waiting for God to speak, waiting for him to show up in all his glory to save their hurting and oppressed nation.

And here, out in a field in the middle of the night, God displays his glory not to priests or to prophets, not to the deserving or holy. He shows his glory to a dirty, smelly, unclean, rejected group of people and their noisy animals. How could this be?

The shepherds are not just afraid. They’re petrified. Scared for their lives.

The angel says, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 1:10). Good news is coming to the shepherds; they get to hear it first. This kind of revelation shouldn’t happen in front of people like them.

The angel continues. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 1:11). Wait, isn’t Caesar “Lord”? The pagans celebrated and worshipped the emperor, declaring him “Savior” and “Lord.” Caesar Augustus, after all, is the name given to him by the Roman Senate––a name meaning “eminent and majestic,” a name that even suggests, according to some, his divinity.9

There is no way anyone having any power in the empire would allow these smelly, disheveled shepherds to take part in celebrating some royal announcement. They’d get thrown out in a second. They are nothing.

But the angel offers a key piece of information. This baby, this “Savior” and “Lord” would be the child found wrapped in cloths and lying in a feeding trough.10

The Savior and Lord of the world would not be a king like Herod.

He would not be a Roman emperor.

He would not come with pomp and power.

His coming wouldn’t merely benefit the rich or famous or only those faithful to the Law.

His coming would be to save the lost. He would be the one to proclaim good news to the poor, give liberty to the captives, give sight to the blind, and free the oppressed.11 He would be Immanuel, “God with us,” a humble baby born to a peasant couple in Bethlehem. No ordinary king would greet these lowly shepherds. But surely they’d be welcomed into an ordinary home to visit a baby in a manger.

This truly is good news.12

God’s Upside-Down Kingdom

All of the sudden, a choir of angels—far greater than the choirs who worshipped the emperor—joins in. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).

Augustus was praised for his supposed success in achieving worldwide peace. He had choirs of people used to worship him.13 But here in the darkness of night, the light shines and worship of the true God fills the atmosphere (Isaiah 9:2). Here, in the political turmoil, prophecies are fulfilled. Isaiah said:

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Even Caesar’s grand plan of a census is subject to the sovereignty of God.

It’s through this census that Mary and Joseph end up in Bethlehem and therefore fulfill the prophecy of Micah, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2).

The fulfillment of prophecy, the coming of a Savior and Lord, a new ruler on the throne of a new kingdom, the glory of God shining in the darkness––all of this is happening out in a field in the middle of the night.

And they cannot help themselves. They must go see.

So they head to Bethlehem and find Mary and Joseph and the child, just as the angel told them. There lies a baby in a manger-turned-bassinet. Their minds race, their hearts pound, their mouths gush with words as they explain to Mary and Joseph all that happened.

Mary takes it all in. She listens, maybe quietly offering a knowing smile. Maybe she’s exuberant or cannot contain her tears of joy. But here, a group of shepherds, an unlikely couple, maybe a few onlookers, relatives, and a midwife, gather around a newborn boy.

They witness in the quietness of a common peasant home the unfolding of the upside-down kingdom of God.

We Can Rejoice

Everything about these scenes is backwards, at least from a human viewpoint. Jesus comes humbly, born of a virgin and to a couple enveloped in rumors of impropriety. The Savior is laid in a feeding trough. The shepherds are the first to hear the good news. Nothing is as we would have chosen it to be.

But God’s kingdom is not like the ones we build. N.T. Wright says, “[T]he point Luke is making is clear. The birth of this little boy is the beginning of the confrontation between the kingdom of God—and the kingdoms of the world.”14

Luke tells us, “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them” (Luke 2:20). We must do the same. As the shepherds carried on the rejoicing of the angels, so we must carry on that same rejoicing. Because God does not work the way we do—and his ways are infinitely better and infinitely more gracious.

As weary as we may be, we can rejoice, because in God’s kingdom, the lost are saved, the rejected are accepted, and the lowly are honored. The surprising and humble way God’s kingdom began to unfold through the birth of Jesus is reason for us to sing and shout and praise and share. It is reason enough for us to overflow with joy.

Kenneth Bailey, when writing of Jesus’ humble beginnings in the manger says:

I long to turn the traditional “Merry Christmas” the other direction and introduce a new greeting for Christmas morning.

Greeting: The Savior is born.

Response: He is born in a manger.

O that we might greet each other in this manner.15

Let us be the first to realize we are lowly and rejected, lost people in need of a Savior. And let us be the first to rejoice because that Savior was born in a manger.

Thanks be to God.

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Reflect

1. Maybe as we read this story, we want to see ourselves as Mary who believed or the shepherds who first heard the good news.

But in reality, some of us are the ones who point fingers at the outcasts. We’d be the ones whispering gossip about Mary. We’d be the ones keeping our distance from unclean shepherds. We’d be the ones rejecting others because we view them as undeserving. We’re the ones making sure we “appear” holy, although we’re more like “whitewashed tombs” (Jesus words, not mine—Matthew 23:27).

Luke’s whole gospel demonstrates how upside-down God’s kingdom is. Jesus eats and drinks with sinners and tax collectors, talks to prostitutes, and even heals the servant of a despised Roman centurion.

Put yourself in the book of Luke. Who do you identify with most? Be honest. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict your heart if you’ve been the one to reject others––and if you’ve been the outcast, ask him to help you experience his comfort.

Pray for him to reveal to you how you can rejoice in and demonstrate God’s kingdom, the kingdom where the lost are saved, the rejected are accepted, and the lowly are honored.

2. The Christmas story isn’t a nice little tale of Jesus coming, being some sweet baby who apparently, “no crying he makes.” The Christmas story is one of a broken and hurting world, one ravaged by suffering and cruelty and oppression. Jesus’ birth happened in the midst of political turmoil and social tension. Matthew even talks about how after the wise men visited Jesus, Herod killed all the male children in Bethlehem who were two and under (Matthew 2:16). I remember reading that passage when my son was less than two years old. It made me weep.

This is a hard story to hear. If we look at the suffering in the first century, it can be difficult to believe God was in control and that he was good. But we get to see the other side of the story. We get to read of the light shining through darkness, the glory of God appearing, the prophecies being fulfilled. And we also know that just over three decades later, Jesus suffered a horrific death—but after that came resurrection.

Yet, in our own lives, as we look at the suffering in the twenty-first century, it can also be hard to believe God is really in control and that he is good. We look up and only see darkness, we long for God to appear, and we wait for the prophecies about the second coming of Christ to be fulfilled. We haven’t yet seen the other side of the story, at least not in full. Resurrection and new creation seem impossible with death and destruction all around.

What aspects of the Christmas story—and the story of what God is doing in your life—do you struggle with? Do you believe God is in control? Do you believe he’s good? Do you believe he will make the darkness light, fulfill his promises, one day return, and make all things new (Revelation 21:5)?

Take these doubts, questions, and struggles to God. He’s not afraid of them or caught off guard. He wants us to be honest with him and with ourselves. And it is he who will help us in our unbelief (Mark 9:24).

3. We read how the shepherds carried on the rejoicing of the angels––and now we get to carry on that same rejoicing.

What does that look like for you this week? Even if you’re exhausted, worn down, and depleted (as so many people in this story were!), what would it look like for you to rejoice in the middle of it all?

A Prayer

by

O God who brings great joy to all people, 
may we remember who first heard
of love breaking through,
changing the course of history,
forever.
 
O God who lifts the lowly,
we come to You
in awe of the Creator God,
who could have introduced the newborn King
to the rich and the powerful,
but instead, O Lord,
chose to illuminate the worker's fields, 
extending a sacred invitation
of a holy homecoming
to shepherds
with dirt under their fingernails,
sweat on their brow,
and no social status in sight.
 
O Lord, we come to You
aware of our propensity
to grasp for power and possessions.
And we ask to be more like the shepherds, who, in their humility,
had a posture of welcome.
Help us remember
when the king was threatened,
it was the shepherds who were filled with awe.
Help us not to be like Herod,
but to be awake to the wonder
of the shepherds.
 
In the paths of the shepherds, 
may we pay attention
to the ways You’re calling us in.
 
In the paths of the shepherds, 
may we have tender souls 
that worship a tiny newborn.
 
In the paths of the shepherds, 
may we be faithful to the work 
you have set out for us.
 
In the paths of the shepherds, 
may we trust You in the mystery 
of Your great love.
 
In the paths of the shepherds,
may we have open-handed wonder 
to Your subversive ways.
 
In the paths of the shepherds,
may we give our every fear
to You, for You hold all things together.
 
O God of glory,
we ask you to continue
to reveal your wonder
as we wait for You to speak
into our souls and into our world,
just as Your people so many years ago 
who waited for Your glory
to save the hurting and oppressed.
We ask You to remember
the brokenhearted and the marginalized 
living among us now.
And with fear and trembling, we ask to enter in
to the ways You are healing
and reconciling all people and all things to You.
O God of justice and truth,
may we be ambassadors of Your great peace.
 
We pray for peace to fill our hearts and our world.
Turn our hearts from the allure of the empire
and toward a baby born in a manger. 
We admit that we have chased gilded palaces
instead of seeing Your blinding glory 
that waits for us in humble fields. 
Help us walk in the ways
of Your upside-down kingdom. 
For this is the path
You are still inviting us into, 
even here, even now.
Help us walk with the lived anticipation 
shown by the shepherds so many years ago.
Help us believe the impossible, O God. 
And may the shepherds––
the tired,
lowly,
worn-out shepherds––
hold a mirror to our souls.

Amen.

As a strong believer that Christmas music, decor, and general merriment shouldn’t happen until after Thanksgiving, I can officially say, “Merry Christmas!” This week, I’m going to attempt to catch up to those of you who have been celebrating since August by listening to all the carols, hanging stockings, buying gifts, and perusing holiday recipes (okay, that last one I do year-round).

I love this season—but that’s not always been the case. Many years, it’s been filled with grief. I vividly remember the year that Advent for me didn’t mean waiting for the birth of a Savior. It meant waiting for my mom to die. Doctors told her months before that she probably wouldn’t make it until Christmas, and that year, I dreaded the holiday more than ever. It felt like her death sentence.

The holidays have a way of compounding our grief, don’t they? When “Joy to the World” rings in our ears, we wish at times we could feel more joyful. Some years, maybe we feel all the feels of the holiday, but come December 26th, there’s a letdown. That was it? we might think. The planning and preparing and excitement and anticipation seemed great while they lasted. But they don’t last.

If we feel like that some years, I can’t imagine how deeply the Israelites felt that same sentiment throughout their history. In the book of Isaiah, the people are in exile in Babylon. They wonder where God is and question if he really was sovereign and powerful. If he was, why did the Babylonians win? Why did their gods seem more powerful than Yahweh? They’re far from the temple where God dwelled and far from the land he gave them. Joy felt impossible. Hope seemed lost.

But through the prophet, God gave a word of comfort. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,” chapter 40 begins. The poem goes on to remind Israel that their sins have been forgiven, and their God, Yahweh, is the true God. He is sovereign over them, and because of his sovereignty and power, he actually has the authority and the ability to comfort them. The Babylonian gods are nothing. “The nations are like a drop from a bucket” (verse 15).

No one compares to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not only the true Creator God who rules and reigns, but he is also the very God who comforts us, strengthens us, and renews our hope—even when it feels like all hope is lost.

Isaiah 40 says:

“Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
‘My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God’?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.”

–Isaiah 40:27-28

Our God reminds us that our hope doesn’t depend on circumstances or meeting expectations. Israel’s captivity was a huge blow to expectations—as was the baby born in a manger when they anticipated a powerful Messiah. Even for those who still believed when they saw that baby, for those who stuck with him throughout his life and ministry, there couldn’t have been a greater blow to their hope than the crucifixion. Can you imagine the thoughts of Mary as she watched her son die? She was the same woman who knew the miracle of his conception and sang, “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). But standing before that cross, where was God?

He was about to raise the dead.

Why, like Israel, do we say, “Where is God?” or “Why doesn’t he do something?” We can ask the questions in our grief, but the comfort we need isn’t merely in a change of circumstances. Our comfort is found in God himself—the everlasting, Creator God who never grows weary and who works in ways we cannot fathom, a merciful God who forgives sins and raises the dead.

Whatever your Christmas season looks like, I pray it’s filled with the truest comfort. I pray you’ll know that joy is possible, and hope is not lost. I pray we can sing of “tidings of comfort and joy,” in a new and deeper way this season as we learn to know and trust the God of all comfort.

Prefer pen and paper? Get a printable version of this entire advent study here. Use code SUBSTACK to get it for just $5.

Before you begin, read this week’s Scripture passage: Luke 1. Our study this week will focus on verses 5-25, 39-45, and 57-80. I also recommend reading all of Luke 1-2:40 if you haven’t yet.

Introduction

By the time we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth, having children is unthinkable for them. They’re an older couple, Elizabeth being far beyond child-bearing age. For years they’ve prayed to conceive, only to be answered with silence. Barrenness has been a heavy weight to bear.

Without a child, Zechariah and Elizabeth carry shame within their community—especially Elizabeth. At that time, childlessness was often seen as the woman’s fault. She must have sinned. She must have done something wrong to deserve this. Zechariah should leave her and find a wife who can bear children.1 God gave the command to be fruitful and multiply,2 but Zechariah and Elizabeth can’t fulfill that command. Their lives are marked by unfulfilled longing, deep grief, and maybe even the unwanted comments, stares, and judgments of those around them.

Not having a child also means they won’t have anyone to take care of them in their old age. Fear and anxiety lurk around the corner with the passing of each year. Who will help us pay the bills? Who will take care of us near the end? Who will bury us when we die?3

But the couple remains faithful to God and to each other. They are good Jews who follow the Law and worship Yahweh. They are both descendants of Aaron, after all, making them a part of the best and purest of the priestly line.4 Why are they, of all people, left childless? What did they do to deserve this? Why did God withhold the gift of children?

Conceiving is impossible. Zechariah and Elizabeth know what a woman’s body needs to do in order to have a child, and her body has long since shed that possibility–along with any hope of answered prayer.

Dumbstruck

Zechariah’s priestly division is on duty,5 and he’s chosen by lot to go into the temple to burn incense. Sacrifices were typically made in the morning and the evening, and incense was also offered in the sanctuary with those sacrifices.6 Offering incense is a normal priestly responsibility, but with so many priests, a single individual wasn’t picked all that often.7 This opportunity may come once in a lifetime. Today is Zechariah’s day. No pressure.

The crowds gather to pray. It’s busy outside as Zechariah enters the priestly sanctuary. The altar of incense sits in the center of the sanctuary, right outside the Holy of Holies. This is not a place to mess around––it’s the holiest place a priest of Zechariah’s rank could go.8 He’s there to burn incense, pray, and leave.9 It won’t take very long, but he’s about to stand on sacred ground. This is not a duty not to be taken lightly.

I wonder if his hands shook with nerves or if he could hear the crowds outside as he approached the altar. Don’t screw this up, he may have thought. A misstep wouldn’t simply be embarrassing. It could mean God striking him down dead right on the spot.

An angel appears––and not a cute little cherub with wings. Angels appearing brought fear and trembling. Angels struck people down. Angels came from the very presence of God. Is this the end for Zechariah?

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard,” the angel tells him (Luke 1:13).

God says through the angel that he and Elizabeth will raise a son who will prepare the way for the Messiah. This child will be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. He will be great—but point the way to someone even greater. He will bring his parents joy and gladness and lead people to salvation. He will go before the Messiah “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).

This son to be born to this couple will be used by God to fulfill the promises made hundreds of years before.

The prophet Malachi wrote, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers…” (Malachi 4:5-6a).

As he stands in the temple, listening to the angel, Zechariah knows the words of the prophets. The angel says this child will go in the spirit and power of Elijah. He says he will be one to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. He practically recounts Malachi’s exact words right there in the sanctuary.

What in the world? Zechariah might have thought. We gave up on any baby years ago—let alone one who would fulfill ancient promises. There’s no way.

“How shall I know this?” Zechariah responds (Luke 1:18).

I picture him shaking his head in disbelief, still fearful but also astounded that this messenger from heaven doesn’t seem to realize how old he and his wife are. Had Zechariah still been actively asking God for a child, maybe he would have believed when he received the answer to his prayer. “Wow, God! Thank you!” he might have said instead. But he doubts. A layer of unbelief coats his question. Maybe it had been years—even decades—since they stopped praying for a child, since they’d given up hope. How could this be?

The angel responds. Who do you think you’re talking to, Zechariah? I’m Gabriel. I stand in God’s very presence, and I’m here to bring you good news!10

And then Gabriel answers Zechariah’s request for a sign. It’s a sign that’s also a rebuke for his disbelief.11 He’s made mute.12

Meanwhile, the murmuring of the crowds grows louder. Zechariah has been in the temple a while, much longer than it should take for someone to burn incense. What’s taking so long? Did he do something wrong? Is he dead? If Zechariah failed, our prayers are at risk, too!13

Zechariah emerges from the temple, his eyes wide and his hands gesturing as he tries to explain what happened. You will not believe this, he may have wanted to tell them. He doesn’t believe it himself, after all. But he can’t get his story across. He’s dumbstruck, in the most literal sense of the word.

His once-in-a-lifetime job is done, and Zechariah is left to silently mull over the supernatural events in his own mind. He goes home, and sure enough, Elizabeth soon starts to feel different. Maybe she feels nauseated. Maybe the taste of her food suddenly turns her off. Maybe she can’t stop thinking about eating a giant pile of figs. First century Jewish women must have had cravings, too.

At some point, it’s clear Elizabeth carries a child in her womb. Like with Abraham and Sarah, God does the impossible. The ancestors didn’t believe at first either, yet God still acted. He fulfilled his promises to them. After all, nothing is too hard for the LORD.14 And just as Rachel did when God opened her womb in Genesis, Elizabeth says, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among the people” (Luke 1:25).15

Elizabeth no longer bears the shame of barrenness. Though she keeps herself hidden for some reason, she no longer lives as an outsider in her society. God sees her and shows his goodness and graciousness to her.

Now, the stares of others will be because of the miracle in her belly rather than judgment because of its emptiness.

Watching God Work

Six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Mary comes to their home. It’s a meeting of rejoicing and miracles, belief and worship. The baby leaps in Elizabeth’s womb, and she knows this is far beyond the typical kicking and pushing of her unborn child. He jumps with divinely given joy, and Elizabeth herself is filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary bursts out in song. Their hard, ordinary lives have taken a turn they never expected. God is using them––these no-name, shamed families––to fulfill his promises to Israel and to the world.

Was Zechariah around when all this happened? Did he sit in the corner watching or jump up and down in excitement with them? Did his eyes tear up as he thought about the goodness of God? Did he still doubt?

As these two women praise the LORD, Zechariah remains silent. They believed from the start; he had doubted. So he must keep his mouth shut and watch God work.

The Spirit Is On the Move

The time comes for Elizabeth to give birth. The whole town rejoices at the mercy God has shown this family. When the child is eight days old and going to be circumcised, Elizabeth names him John.

That name doesn’t fit, they all say. “None of your relatives is called by this name” (Luke 1:61). So they gesture to Zechariah. He now knows better than to disobey or doubt the word of the LORD. The angel told him to name him John (Luke 1:13). So he scribbles on a writing tablet, “His name is John” (Luke 1:63). (Way to back up your wife, Zech.)

Zechariah obeys, the prophecy is fulfilled, and his mouth is opened.

Everyone freaks out. “Fear came on all their neighbors” (Luke 1:65). It was alarming enough when Zechariah lost his ability to speak, but one could chalk that up to a medical condition or age or some other natural explanation. Yet suddenly getting his speech back?

This is an act of God.

Like the prophet Ezekiel, whose speech was restored when the prophecies came to pass, so too was Zechariah’s speech restored. Maybe this is also so “they will know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 24:27 and 29:21).16

Commotion builds throughout the whole region. All those around Zechariah and Elizabeth know something is going on, something impossible and spectacular. “What then will this child be?” they ask (Luke 1:66). Not an ordinary child, that’s for sure. The hand of God is with him.

As they wonder, the Holy Spirit comes upon Zechariah. The Holy Spirit had overshadowed Mary, was with John even in the womb, and filled Elizabeth when she and Mary were together. The Holy Spirit has been working wonders in God’s people—even the most unexpected of people.

The Spirit is on the move.

Years of waiting for a child, years of waiting for the prophecies of old to come true, months of expectation at this pregnancy, months of being mute for disbelief...it all leads to this. With his neighbors around and his newborn son before him, Zechariah, now filled with the Holy Spirit, begins to prophesy. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people…” (Luke 1:68).

Here, in this moment, after unbelief and shame and heartache and unanswered prayers, God shows this older couple that he has not forgotten them. He shows everyone gathered around that he can do the impossible.

And he makes it astoundingly clear that he is a God who keeps his promises.

The Benedictus

Zechariah’s prophecy (Luke 1:68-79) speaks of the redemption of Israel, the moment they had been waiting for since they left Egypt hundreds of years before. He looks back on what God did and the “mercy he promised to our fathers” (1:72). And he looks forward to what God will do. His song, often called The Benedictus (which comes from the Latin word meaning “blessed”), reminds us that the weary can rejoice because God fulfills his promises.

N.T. Wright comments, “One evil empire after another had trampled them under foot; now at last God was going to give them deliverance. We can feel the long years of pain and sorrow, of darkness and death, overshadowing his mind.”17

Zechariah’s words look back to the first exodus, to the promises God made and the deliverance he provided. He remembers how Moses asked Pharaoh to let the people go so they could serve Yahweh,18 and he sees now that God is doing the same–but in an even greater way. This prophecy looks forward to a new exodus, one when God’s people would be delivered not only from earthly oppressors, but the oppression of sin and death itself.

The Benedictus is a cry of relief and a shout of joy. God will redeem Israel. He will remember his covenant. He will deliver his people so they can serve him. He’s done all that before, and he’ll do it again. And God will use the child, John, to prepare the way for the Messiah and declare to the people that salvation is here and forgiveness is available to all.

There’s no need to sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. There’s a way of peace. His name is Jesus.

Thanks be to God.

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Reflect

1. The weary can rejoice because God fulfills his promises. If we are to believe that God fulfills his promises, we have to know what those promises are. What are some of the things God has promised throughout Scripture? Look, for example, at what he said to Abraham (Genesis 12), Moses (Exodus 3), and David (2 Samuel 7).

2. Some promises are meant for a particular person or group, so we can’t necessarily slap those onto our own lives. We can’t claim our descendants will be as numerous as the stars just because God said that to Abraham. But knowing what God has promised in Scripture and seeing how he’s brought those things to pass helps us better know and trust our faithful God.

Other promises can be applied to us. As you look at Scripture, what has God promised to you? Consider looking at James 1:5, 1 Corinthians 10:13, John 10:28-29, Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 1:6, and Luke 12:40.

We can cling to the promises of God. He will never fail to keep his word. As Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

(For more on understanding which promises are for us, read this article from Jen Wilkin. She reminds us that “God’s promises to us should help us submit to his will, not bend him to ours.”)

3. What promises do you tend to doubt? What would be different about how you live your life if you fully believed that God will make good on his promises?

For example, if I actually believe God will never leave me or forsake me (Heb. 13:5), how does that change how I handle seasons of depression or when God seems silent? What does it look like in your own life to believe instead of doubt?

4. In her commentary on Luke, Diane Chen writes, “The same God who did the impossible for Abraham and Sarah is now doing the impossible for Zechariah and Elizabeth as part of the blessing for Israel and the nations…(and) as God responds to the yearning of Israel for deliverance, he weaves into that grand solution an answer to the personal need of righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth. The God of the big picture does not miss the fine details.”19

Do you struggle to see the big picture of what God is doing in the world? Or do you find it harder to believe he cares about the fine details of your life? In what ways? Write a prayer of confession and ask for God to strengthen your faith in who he is as a promise keeper.

5. Christ has come, and he will come again. That’s the ultimate promise we’re waiting to see fulfilled, and in the meantime, we’re to be steadfast and patient. We’re to live faithfully, not doubting God but persevering in the work he’s called us to do.

This is exactly what James talks about in James 5:7-11. Read those verses and consider this question: What does it look like this week for you to be patient, establish your heart, and remain steadfast, as James says?

A Prayer

by

O God who fulfills promises
and turns the hearts
of parents to children,
and turns the hearts
of children to parents,

we come to You
in our wondering souls.
We come to You
in our weary states.
We come to You
in our wandering steps.

O God who does the impossible
and answers improbable prayer
we thought long forgotten,
we praise You.
For the weary world rejoiced then,
and the weary world rejoices now, O Lord.

We come to You,
God who moves,
and ask You to move us
as we anticipate what was
and is to come.

May we dance
in the miracles
of Your Spirit
and in the newness of creation to come,
now and forevermore,
as we look to the birth
of our coming Christ the Lord.

Amen.

Before you begin, read this week’s Scripture passage: Luke 1:26-56. I also recommend reading all of Luke 1-2:40 if you haven’t yet.

Introduction

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” Mary sang. Her song can sound like a sweet, happy, melody of praise, but if we skim over her words too quickly, we might miss the whole picture. Mary’s story is not a precious, rosy tale of a welcomed pregnancy and a cozy life. Hers is one of questions, pain, uncertainties, fear, shame, and heartache.

But it’s also a story of a powerful and merciful Savior.

Mary’s story didn’t unfold like a crèche being unpacked from its tissue paper, each piece of the Nativity being carefully laid out as a festive display. No. The world struggled amid political, religious, and social uproar. At the time, Herod the Great ruled on the throne, a king known to be paranoid and brutal––so much so that he even executed his wife and a few of his own sons. As if being ruled by an emotionally unstable murderer wasn’t bad enough, the Romans occupied Israel—and they had Herod in their back pocket. He needed to make sure he stayed on their good side, which made him even more despicable to the Jews.1

But the Jewish people held onto hope. For hundreds of years, they had been waiting for the Messiah, the one who would save them and free them from oppression. Mary knew of this promise. She grew up hearing the stories of Yahweh parting the Red Sea and raining down manna from heaven. She knew about the covenants God made with Abraham and David2 and the prophecies about the coming king. She, like all good Jews, believed that someday, the Messiah would come.

Mary’s Call

Mary is an unmarried young woman, a child really, likely no older than 14. She probably still lives in her father’s home, and she’s engaged to a man named Joseph––a commitment as serious as marriage. One didn’t break an engagement easily––not that Mary wanted to, anyway. She’s a faithful woman, one who follows the Law and carries out her duties. Yet as a young virgin from a tiny, inconsequential town called Nazareth, she holds about the lowest status someone could have in the first century.

And it’s about to get lower.

Seemingly out of nowhere, an angel of God appears to Mary. Being confronted by a heavenly being would be frightening, to say the least. But then he says something strange. He tells her she’s favored by God, an unusual greeting for anyone, but even more unusual for her. She’s nobody important. Yet he talks to her like she is.3

I wonder what Mary thought in those first moments when Gabriel appeared. Fear, to be sure, although the angel says she doesn’t need to be afraid. But did he really mean to visit her? Maybe he’s got the wrong person, she may have wondered.

His words get crazier. He tells her she’ll have a baby––but not just any baby––one who would be the “Son of the Most High.” He’d be a descendent of the great King David, ruling on the throne.

Not only is this strange, not only does this sound impossible, but this is scary––maybe even life-threatening. What would people think? What would her father think? Would Joseph divorce her? Would he have her stoned, thinking she’d been with another man?4 Who would believe her word against Joseph’s or her father’s? How would she survive if she is kicked out of her home and left without a husband? There’s no way Joseph would stick around, and even if he did, this is no way to start a marriage.

I wonder what Mary asked herself, if her brain raced with “what-ifs” and “Plan Bs” and questions like, Did that really just happen? I wonder if she calculated the due date of her period, and if her heartbeat quickened as soon as she realized her monthly cycle had come late. I wonder if she tried to hide morning sickness or if her family even knew she was pregnant for those first few months.

If it was me, the fear would be crippling. Yet in that angelic conversation, Mary simply asks for a little more information. She’s not doubting, only wondering. “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34).

By the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High, Gabriel tells her.5

I can’t imagine Mary saying, “Oh, that makes sense now. Thanks, Gabe.” Maybe she did say something to that effect. Her faith is evident in Scripture. But my guess is she still had a lot of questions, and God in his grace didn’t leave her alone with them. He didn’t leave her without a confidante.

The angel gives her a sign. “Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:36-37).

Visiting Elizabeth

Elizabeth lives in the hill country of Judea, a three to five-day journey from where Mary lives. But she has to go. She has to see with her own eyes. So she goes “with haste.”

It’s a dangerous trip for a young woman to take. I wonder if her family knew about her pregnancy when she left. Did they believe her? Did she keep the news from them and then return to her home visibly pregnant three months later?6 What reasoning did she give for heading out? Mary may have joined up with a caravan for protection. Maybe her family showed support and believed her story. We don’t know for sure. But whatever the case, she rushed off with great courage—and maybe a generous dose of desperation.

Could Elizabeth really be pregnant? This older woman has been shamed and mocked by the other women in her community, maybe even accused of being sinful and therefore punished with barrenness. Some Jewish teachers told men to divorce barren women so they could have a child with someone else.7 For years Elizabeth’s longing for a child went unanswered, and now Mary has the audacity to show up with an unexpected pregnancy outside of marriage. Did doubts swarm through Mary’s head? Did she feel nervous? Maybe she kept thinking, Will Elizabeth believe me? Will she shut the door in my face?

Mary arrives at her relatives’ home. She enters the house, and Elizabeth’s round belly strikes joy and comfort into Mary’s soul. How could it be!? It’s true!

And then Elizabeth shouts, unable to contain the words of the Spirit filling her body. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43).

She believes me! Oh Lord, she believes me. I picture Mary sinking onto a nearby bench, one hand resting on her belly and another on the table to steady herself. She must have been completely overwhelmed with relief and joy. I’m sure there was not a dry eye in the room as Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced together. These two women, worn down by the world and living stories of shame, held divine secrets in their wombs. God did the impossible with Elizabeth, and the miracle Mary beheld surpassed even that. These two babies, these two boys they carried, were no ordinary children. One would prepare the way for the other, the second one being the very Son of God.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” Mary sang. The words overflowed from her soul like a flood. Her fears, anxieties, questions, uncertainties—God knew all these. God could do the impossible. God was doing the impossible.

She saw it in Elizabeth.

She felt it in her own body.

Her call to mother this child would not be easy. It would not be comfortable or glamorous but would bring hardship, shame, and grief. She’d be looked down on as an unwed mother. She’d lose Jesus for three days at the age of 12 and watch him die at age 33. Joy would mingle with sorrow all her life.

But Mary’s song shows she “saw as already accomplished what God would do through her son.”8 The life of her child begins with her rejoicing—and rejoicing would have the final word.

Because this all-powerful, merciful God chose to use her, an unmarried teenager from the middle of nowhere, to birth the One who would save the world.

Thanks be to God.

The Magnificat

Mary’s song, often known in the Church as The Magnificat (a title that comes from the Latin translation of the word “magnifies”), shows how the weary can rejoice, because we have a powerful and merciful Savior.

If you look at her song (Luke 1:46-55), she praises the character and work of God. She echoes Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2, praising God because he is mighty, merciful, strong, just, and more. The first few verses exclaim what God has done for her, and then she continues to sing of what God will do for all his people. She sees how he has worked, and confidently declares what he will do as he continues to fulfill the covenant made to Abraham (see Genesis 12 and 17).

What God has done in the past gives Israel hope for the future. He has shown himself powerful and merciful, and he will continue to be. He has saved them before, and he will do it again—and this time not just from earthly enemies.9

Her song is a celebration, a shout of triumph. How can she praise God in the midst of her shame, vulnerability, and struggles? She trusts the character of God. As one theologian put it, “Underneath it all is a celebration of God. God has taken the initiative—God the Lord, the savior, the Powerful One, the Holy One, the Merciful One, the Faithful One. God is the ultimate reason to celebrate.”10

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Reflect

1. Put yourself in Mary’s shoes. What fears would you have had if you were her? Based on your own history of faith, would you have doubted God or believed? Would you have resisted God’s call or submitted to him?

2. Now bridge the gap. What challenge are you going through right now? What fears do you have? In what ways do you doubt God? What is he asking you to do, and are you resisting or submitting?

3. Reread Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55. Jot down the ways she describes God and what he’s done.

4. Consider your own life. What has God shown you about his character lately? What has he done in your life and in the lives of others around you? What evidence do you have of God’s presence and provision?

5. The weary can rejoice because we have a powerful and merciful Savior. That doesn’t mean our life will get easier if we believe this truth. For Mary, her calling made life harder in many ways. And yet she had hope. She believed. She could praise God through it all because she trusted his character and his plan.

What would it look like for you to live with faith and hope in God’s good plan this week?

A Prayer

by

O God who made a way
and still makes the impossible possible,
fill us with Your hope
as we walk this worn Advent path.
Help us be like Mary,
who believed
and treasured Your truth in her heart.
 
O God who invites us in,
and beckons us to be co-creators,
fill us with Your Spirit
as we walk this worn Advent path.
Help us be like Mary,
who was blessed
and whose soul glorifies You.
 
O God who is mindful
and sees the forgotten,
fill us with Your joy
as we walk this worn Advent path.
Help us be like Mary,
who worshipped Your name
and rejoiced in the unknown.
 
O God who is just,
and cares for all humankind,
fill us with Your compassion
as we walk this worn Advent path.
Help us be like Mary,
who sang of Your mighty deeds
and stood in Your promise.
 
O God who is generous,
and holds all time and space together,
fill us with Your wonder
as we walk this worn Advent path.
Help us be like Mary,
who pointed to Your power
and to our present and future hope.
 
O God who is with us,
help us be like Mary.
Help us stand in the unknowing,
and help us sing of Your promises
Now and forevermore.
 
Amen.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I feel like I say that often—probably because my 3-year-old is in a stage where climbs in our bed every night. It really is amazing how much space in a king-sized bed his tiny body takes up.

But many of us are far wearier than what a good night’s sleep can solve. We’re discouraged and uncertain, maybe even doubting. We aren’t sure how much longer we can deal with things like grief, frustration, anger, injustice, and everything else this year has brought. Maybe we thought we would just have to “get around the corner,” and then things would be better. But eventually we realize, as I heard someone once say, there are no corners.

So instead of waiting to find rest when life’s questions are answered and problems are fixed, we have to find a way to endure. We have to find peace and joy in the midst of the chaos.

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it?

But thanks be to God, it’s not. Scripture tells us we can be “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10). And joy is not toxic positivity. It’s certainly not cynicism or fear. It’s not mere optimism. Joy is found when we know that hope is real. We can draw joy from a Source who has an endless supply. He is Joy. So we, too, can have deep, unshakeable, overflowing, supernatural joy, come what may.

I want that, don’t you?

This advent season, I’m sharing a 4-week study of Luke 1-2 called “The Weary World Rejoices.” I wrote this back in 2020 in the wake of the pandemic. Luke’s gospel has certainly remained just as relevant as ever, so I thought I’d reshare this study here on Substack.

As we look at the stories of Mary, Zechariah and Elizabeth, the shepherds, and Simeon and Anna, we see how rejoicing in weariness and hardship is possible. Because in the midst of our brokenness, pain, grief, frustration, and exhaustion, the Messiah came. He brought redemption and salvation to Israel and all people. But as he did, as God unfolded his grand plan of healing and forgiveness, he did not forget about the ordinary, everyday needs of individual people.

He protected Mary, a vulnerable young girl of low status. He answered the lifelong prayer of Elizabeth for a baby. He gave the shepherds, a ragtag group of rejected, unclean, and despised people a reason to celebrate. He made good on a promise to Simeon and saw the faithfulness of the widow, Anna.

Each Advent Sunday, starting November 30, I’ll send out a post that takes a closer look at that week’s passage to help us see that we can rejoice, even in our weariness, because of who God is and what he’s done. Here’s the outline for what’s ahead:

Week 1: Mary, Luke 1:26-56

Week 2: Zechariah and Elizabeth, Luke 1:5-25, 39-45, 57-80

Week 3: The shepherds, Luke 2:1-21

Week 4: Simeon and Anna, Luke 2:22-40

Each week will include also reflection questions, and wrote prayers coordinating with each week’s topic. I also highly encourage you to read that week’s passage in your Bible. In fact, if you’re short on time, skip my post and read God’s Word.

God is working in the world. At Christmas, we celebrate the Christ, the one who would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). And as he does, as he brings about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, he has not forgotten about you.

He has not forgotten how tired you are, how lonely you feel, how a loved one hurt you, or the discouragement you fight daily. He knows you need joy for today and endurance for the days ahead––and he has it to give. Let’s go to him and find the joy we crave.

Amen?