Week 19: Day 3
What does it look like to be a carrier of hope? Join Aaron as he reflects on James 1:26-17
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Intro: Hello, and welcome back to Orbit. My name is Aaron and once again, delighted to be able to lead you through another reflection. We are in James one again today. Over the past couple of days, we've looked at some of God's call to us. And yesterday we looked at well, what does it look like to be reminded of our identity in Christ and who we are in Him.
Bible: And today, I'd love for us to look at James chapter one, verse 26, and 27. So if you've got your Bibles with me, just as usual, I'd love you to read along with me. But today I'm going to read in the passion translation. And it says this:
If someone believes they have a relationship with God, but they fail to guard his words, then his heart is drifting away, and his religion is shallow, and empty.
Thoughts: Wow. True spirituality that is pure in the eyes of the Father, eyes of our Father God, is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans, the widows in their troubles and to refuse to be corrupted by the world's values. Wow. James, as he's writing this letter, takes no prisoners. He's trying to tell those who are reading this exactly what is important. If someone believes, if someone walks with God claims to be a Christian lives a life or things they're living a life as a disciple of Jesus, but isn’t in honouring God with the words that they say. Their discipleship is void. It's empty, it's shallow.
One of the most difficult questions I was ever asked. In my kind of discipleship journey was this. I had a really good friend asked me, Aaron, how important are your words to you? How important is it to you that you do what you say? And that question, deeply challenged me and deeply shaped the way I've lived. Because I realised we live in a world full of counterfeits. We live in a world full of kind of facade have a one kind of journey here or one thing here and another completely different life. So can I tell you, that was my story, too. I think growing up, I don't know about you as a teenager, there was one life that I used to live in my home, in church with people that were close, and I probably a different life in, in school, or maybe in another setting. For me to fit in, I compromised who I was, or in order to figure out who I was. I ended up living a double life.
I think the challenge from James to us, isn't like put yourself in a Christian bubble and don't do anything. I think the challenge is, if we are truly disciples of Jesus, the way we live, should bring hope, faith, love to those around us. And the next verse, verse 27, says this true spirituality in other words, true relationship with Jesus, true discipleship that is pure in the eyes of our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of orphans. And the Greek word here is foreigners, which means the fatherless or another translation is the comfortless. So, when James says the orphan and widows in other words, I think what that might mean is, who are the people in our lives today in our society today that are comfortless that don't have hope, and that it can be honest with you in the seas in the current climate we're living in now. We don't have to go very far. I think we are surrounded by a narrative of fear. And I think the challenge and the encouragement from James to us today is this. If we are to be true disciples of Jesus, we acknowledge we are carriers of hope.
Challenge: So, what does it look like to bring hope into your schools? What does it look like to bring hope into your home? What does it look like to bring hope to your neighbourhood? To your friends to people who are comfortless. And that is true spirituality or true religion or true discipleship. I've got an action for you off the back of this I love to make this practical. My challenge to you is this today, this week in your life? Who can you encourage? Who in your school needs encouragement that you share a word to who in your youth group or in your church or in your street? is in need of help? Who can you send a text today and encourage?
In a world that we live in, that is filled with a narrative of fear? How can you speak up today? How can we be those who are in spaces of real pain and lack, bring with conviction? Words of real hope and faith and love.
Prayer: I would love to pray for us.
Beautiful Jesus, I pray for us today that we are reminded that we are carriers of hope. And we get to live as boldly as disciples of Jesus. And with conviction we get to be surrounded by people who at the moment are in pain, comfortless are suffering are whatever they might be going through God give us eyes to see them. But not only that, give us eyes to step out in faith and encourage them this week. I pray that would you open our eyes to see people and spirit enable us to speak words of faith? Thank you that you're with us and you're for us. In your name we pray. Amen.
Outro: That's it for all of it today. I'll join you again tomorrow with another reflection. Bye!