Rainy Sunday

James 1:16-18 'Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 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 work of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.'

At first glance, this passage seems very out of place and rather random, quite frankly. So my first question is, why does this follow the section on about sin?? Is there a particular danger that James has in mind when giving this warning?

Lets go back to verse 12, where there is a wonderful promise, followed by talk of sin and then in the above verses he talks about where gifts come from. An immediate barrier to the connection here is the separation of the thought by the paragraph marker. And verses 16-18 fit very well as a second alternative on a spectrum of two possibilities we might slip into.

The first warning is to take responsibility and to take serious our fight against sin, instead 0f blaming everything on God. The second warning is to be cautious regarding taking credit for remaining steadfast under test and trials that we undergo. Just like an incredible athlete did train and in a very real sense did put the work in to run the fastest 100m race in under 10 seconds. But just like the athlete, the Lord sustained his every breath during that training, and provided him with an abundance of healthy food to fuel his efforts. In the same way, I must be thankful and not solely introspective with triumphs of faith.

At the end of it, we are something special. Despite our rebellious hearts that covet the position that He deserves on the throne of the universe, He has redeemed us and paid our account in full. So of all the beautiful things and beings He created, we are brought forth in truth in a unique way.

So I should be different and thankful. God is a helper and He needs to be the one I run to when stuff gets crazy or seems overwhelming.

'I already know that I am not going to live in the right balance of any continuum Father, but I want to in many different areas, and I want to want to in others. When I do things well by an earthly standard, make me wuick to give you credit and to make YOU my boast, since I am mostly tempted to make other things my boast or myself. Help me to believe it is best to be weak and admittedly so, especially in a culture where men are supposed to be macho. Admitting that I truly am empty without You does not fulfill the world's image of this nor my desires many times. Please help. Thanks in advance, in Christ's name, who bore every one of my self-centered self-trusting God-belittling attitudes, thoughts and actions, Amen.'