James 2: Saw
“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor.” –V5-6a
“Have you not discriminated amongst yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” –V4 (Italics mine)
Has God not chosen the outcast? Has God not chosen that annoying brother in Christ who does not understand how to shut his mouth? Has God not chosen the one who does not seem to be gifted by worldly standards?
But we have insulted the outcast. We act condescendingly towards those who do not fit in our social circles.
And by doing so, we have crippled the body of Christ. We’ve cut the finger from the hand, the foot from the leg.
God wants to use the loser. God wants to use that insecure sister in Christ who dresses scandalously to attract attention. God wants to use that brother who is struggling to stop sleeping with his girlfriend. God wants to use the ones that we intentionally overlook. God does not wait for them to become perfect before he uses them. He wants to use them just as they are, with all their imperfections. God has made them essential to the life of the Church. But by cutting them off from the family, we cripple the body of Christ, and put to a halt what God wants to do in and through the Church.
Therefore, let one pour mercy upon the other’s imperfections. Let us not make judgments about one another, nor unnecessarily say hurtful things to or about one another, lest we disjoin and cripple the body of Christ. For how can God’s beauty possibly be revealed by a church body that severs its own parts?
“Have you not discriminated amongst yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” –V4 (Italics mine)
Has God not chosen the outcast? Has God not chosen that annoying brother in Christ who does not understand how to shut his mouth? Has God not chosen the one who does not seem to be gifted by worldly standards?
But we have insulted the outcast. We act condescendingly towards those who do not fit in our social circles.
And by doing so, we have crippled the body of Christ. We’ve cut the finger from the hand, the foot from the leg.
God wants to use the loser. God wants to use that insecure sister in Christ who dresses scandalously to attract attention. God wants to use that brother who is struggling to stop sleeping with his girlfriend. God wants to use the ones that we intentionally overlook. God does not wait for them to become perfect before he uses them. He wants to use them just as they are, with all their imperfections. God has made them essential to the life of the Church. But by cutting them off from the family, we cripple the body of Christ, and put to a halt what God wants to do in and through the Church.
Therefore, let one pour mercy upon the other’s imperfections. Let us not make judgments about one another, nor unnecessarily say hurtful things to or about one another, lest we disjoin and cripple the body of Christ. For how can God’s beauty possibly be revealed by a church body that severs its own parts?
posted by Peter Wong at 10:51 PM
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