In James' style of recurring themes and words, there is a phrase (or some variant of it) that keeps coming up..."the law of liberty" (see James 1:25). Elsewhere, it's also called "the perfect law" (also James 1:25), "the royal law" (see James 2:8). If you actually clicked on James 2:8, then you'll find out exactly what this "law" that is royal, perfect and full of liberty is..."You shall love your neighbor as yourself". In fact, James goes on to say that if you are fulfilling this law, "you are doing well."
I long to do well...don't you? In my heart of hearts I want to please my Abba and become more like Him. Isn't that essentially what following the Law of the Old Testament was all about? To become a godly people set apart from the rest of the world. Later when Jesus walked this earth, He was asked, 'What is the most important commandment of the law?' (see Matthew 22:35-40) Jesus said the whole law and even what the prophets had taught could be summed up by two commandments: 1. Love God with everything that is within you and 2. Love your neighbor just like you love yourself. What I just caught in this passage in Matthew is a phrase I've heard every time I've read it. Jesus says the second commandment is like the first.
Having recently seen Les Miserables, I'm quickly reminded of the line, "To love another person is to see the face of God." I think there is profound truth in this. In fact, am I being too simplistic to say that this may be the only Truth there is? If God is Love (see I John 4:7) and Jesus out of His deep, deep love died for us (see John 3:16) and He taught that any drink shared, food or clothing given, sick or imprisoned person visited was exactly like doing it to Him (see Matthew 25:35-40)...how could we expect anything less than to see the face of God?
I notice two more things about James' attention to this "law":
I long to do well...don't you? In my heart of hearts I want to please my Abba and become more like Him. Isn't that essentially what following the Law of the Old Testament was all about? To become a godly people set apart from the rest of the world. Later when Jesus walked this earth, He was asked, 'What is the most important commandment of the law?' (see Matthew 22:35-40) Jesus said the whole law and even what the prophets had taught could be summed up by two commandments: 1. Love God with everything that is within you and 2. Love your neighbor just like you love yourself. What I just caught in this passage in Matthew is a phrase I've heard every time I've read it. Jesus says the second commandment is like the first.
Having recently seen Les Miserables, I'm quickly reminded of the line, "To love another person is to see the face of God." I think there is profound truth in this. In fact, am I being too simplistic to say that this may be the only Truth there is? If God is Love (see I John 4:7) and Jesus out of His deep, deep love died for us (see John 3:16) and He taught that any drink shared, food or clothing given, sick or imprisoned person visited was exactly like doing it to Him (see Matthew 25:35-40)...how could we expect anything less than to see the face of God?
I notice two more things about James' attention to this "law":
- It is foundational to everything else in this book that bears his name. This is sort of why I'm defining it here. Upcoming posts regarding James may not make much sense unless we have a basic understanding that James filters everything through the command to "Love your neighbor as yourself".
- He doesn't mention what Jesus said was the first and greatest commandment.
I by no means think James is circumventing the teaching of Jesus and somehow elevating loving our neighbors above loving God. No, I choose to believe that the man who was challenging the Jewish Christian recipients of his letter wanted them to set aside themselves for the sake of others. After all, this same man whose half-brother had been nailed to a cross because of His perfect love for humanity would probably be the first to know that loving your neighbor as yourself is absolutely impossible if you don't "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and will all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 25:37)
I'm not a New Years' resolution-type person, but I do have some goals I believe God's Spirit has laid upon my heart to work on...and it all starts here...in James...being reminded that the intertwining of my faith with my works is inseparable in the eyes of God. I absolutely cannot confess a faith in God without hands that are willing to serve, feet that are willing to go and expressions of love I am willing to speak and a willingness to die to myself so that my neighbor (a.k.a. my fellow man) can know they are loved as much as I love myself.
Amen!
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