James is a unique book of the Bible, written by a brother of Jesus (not the Apostle James). James obviously knew of his brother and what was claimed about him [Jesus], but only became a believer after the resurrection. James was obviously impacted by the life of Christ, and in much of the book he focuses on the deeds that come as a result of real faith.
James 1:16, 17
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.
How wonderful it must have been for Jesus’ heart to hear his brother proclaim that Jesus chose to give us birth through the word of truth. People will often ascribe to God not salvation but instead all the bad things that happen in this world. They blame God, ask God why He let something happen or why He did something (even if it wasn’t Him) and yet in the book of James, we see the truth about our Father. Every good and perfect gift is from above. The rain, a new baby, financial blessing, friendships, a harvest in season…it all comes down from the Father of the heavenly lights. But the greatest of these good gifts is salvation, and James makes it clear that this gift is for ALL.
Remember the thief on the cross? He did not spend any of his life serving God. He did not attend school under a rabbi or apostle. He did not get written up because of his overwhelming good deeds. In fact, he was hung on a cross in a time when only those who murdered were subjected to the torture of the cross. And yet when he reached out to Jesus, our Lord answered, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
When it comes to the greatest ‘good and perfect gift, God does not show favouritism. We, each one, has the image of God stamped upon us and God does not show favouritism. This is shown in the second chapter of James as well.
James 2:1-4 “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”
The bottom line is God does not discriminate. He lets the sun shine and the rain fall on the good and the evil. He provides food for the rich and food for the poor. This world was created for every human being, and most importantly Jesus died for us all regardless of the history of our sins. Yes, we need to be repentant and honest in our evaluation of what we have done. And this does not excuse nor exempt one from being accountable for the choices that are made toward others. But the forgiveness offered and its sufficiency is the same for any contrite heart, regardless. Sometimes we are the victim. Sometimes we are the perpetrator. Some instances are worse than others. But if we live by the guidelines that God gives us in His Word, oh what a better place this world would be. And that good news of the greatest gift from above is true for each and every one of us on this Earth today. Every good and perfect gift is from above.
Our song for today is Your Love Never Fails by Newsboys.