Category: Serving Others

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An Aha Moment

An aha moment, you know those times when something just click and you have a new thought to ponder and explore. As a teacher, these are the moments when your student gets the idea or concept that you are exploring.

I had an aha moment the other day. I was having lunch with a friend and we were talking social justice and the idea of living out our faith. I was sharing with him from the end of James chapter one where he talks about true religion is taking care of the orphans and widows and keeping yourself uncorrupted by the world. My mind then wondered over to Matthew 22 where Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders and is ask what is the greatest commandment. Jesus responded with loving God and loving others. I’ve preached on the last and will be preaching on the first in a couple of weeks, but what struck me, my aha moment was the linking of serving other and tending to our own spiritual well being. In these two passages they seem linked.

The idea I need to spend more time pondering this linking of service to others and tending to our own formation, of loving God and loving others. What does this mean as a Christ-follower? How are my beliefs and values shaped by this perspective? What should my life look like?

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Picking up on James

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27 (NASB)

I talked about the first part of this passage a couple of postings ago. Now I want to come back to the last part of the verse, keeping oneself pure or unstained by the world. As I read this my thoughts keeping drifting back to Matthew 22 and the passage where Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment, he replies love God and love your neighbor. The first part of this passage is about loving your neighbor and the second part seems to fit “loving God.” You see if we love God with all we have, we won’t have time for things of the world. I know, this is easier said than done. Then again, who ever said being a Christ-follower is easy? James is writing about trials in the first section of chapter 1. This entire letter is written to the twelve tribes who have been scattered due to persecution.

So how do you stay unstained? Do we do it by loving God (Mat 22), focusing on God (Col 3), serving others John 13). I would answer yes to all of these. We also need to align our belief and values with what the Bible teaches. We need to live out a Biblically informed faith.

Here is a challenge that I was given and that I pass along to you. Take a passage of scripture, the Beatitudes, this passage in James, Col 3 or Matthew 22 and live them out. Ask yourself what would my life look like serving widows and orphans, setting my heart on things above, loving God with every fiber of my being? Then apply what you have learned for a week and see how God can use you and transform you into His likeness.

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Pure and Undefiled Religion

Don’t blame me if you don’t like the title, but it comes right out of the epistle of James (1:27).

When I read this yesterday I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed this verse before. Perhaps I was reflecting on the beginning of the section were we are told to “be doers of the word, and not hearer only…”(James 1:22 [NKJ]). James 1:27 says this:

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (NASB)

There were Old Testament laws to help protect the widows and orphans of the day, but they were not always followed. This class of people were often oppressed or neglected.

Who in our society today may be classified as oppressed or neglected? This is where the ideas of social justice and liberation theology come into play. We who call ourselves Christ-follower need to be ready to give voice the voiceless. We must stand with the oppressed. The question I as is how can I do this? How does the community of believers I am a part of do this? How does the Church do this?

Here are two things that I am currently involved with. One, is my work with Habitat for Humanity. Not only do I help pound nails but I help educate high school and college age student in the areas of poverty, homelessness, and affordable housing. Second I spend most of my Wednesday evenings with a group of men at the state prison in Lino Lakes. We are working through materials from Heart of a Warrior ministry.

I would love to hear from you about how this can be accomplished in your life.

I will touch on the second part of this verse in the coming days.

I leave you with this translation of this passage from The Message:

Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.