Check out that knee!!!
Many of you
will have seen a camel either in a book or in real life. They are interesting animals but one thing
that is not attractive about them is their knees. They are knobbly and calloused.
On a trip to Dubai a number of years ago Zara and I had a ride on a
camel. The only way to get up on a camel
is for it to lie down and then you can hop up on its back. In order for it to lie down the camel leans
forward and kneels down which at this point you think you are going to go
straight over the camels head.
Now you
might be wondering what a camel has got to do with the Book of James. Let me tell you. It is believed by some scholars that James
had a nickname and that name was Camel Knees.
He spent a lot of time on his knees praying and had callouses like a
camel. I wonder, even symbolically, if
we can claim that.
So now we
know his nickname we need to know who James is.
If any of you have read your Bible you will know that there is more than
one James mentioned. However, most
scholars would say that the James we are talking about is the half-brother of
Jesus. Can you imagine growing up with
Jesus being your half-brother? Wow that
would be an interesting childhood not to mention adolescence. However, the interesting thing is that James
did not become a believer until after the resurrection of Christ. Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins and
who rose again, which was prophesied in the OT, was not truly known by his
half-brother. Sometimes the truth can be
staring us right in the face and we don’t see it. This should serve as a warning to us all that
we can know the Scriptures like James did but still not be saved. Knowledge does not save us but a personal
relationship with Christ and accepting all that He has done for us.
James did not introduce himself in this letter as we might
have thought. Instead of saying I am James, the half-brother
of Jesus, the Messiah, so you better listen to me. He, instead, said “James, a servant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. Some of
your versions might even say “bond servant”
I am sure that is not how any of us would like to introduce ourselves when writing a book, if we were brutally
honest.
So you
might be thinking what is a bondservant? Well, a bondservant is a slave.
It is someone who follows their master with complete disregard for their
own will, emotions and desires. Wow that
is quite the commitment.
So in
context of how James put it what does it mean?
How can we be bond-servants and do we want to be bond-servants of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ?
None of us
can be perfect this side of Heaven and God is not asking us to be. It is beyond our ability to be perfect. However, it does mean that God should come
first above our own will and desires. It
means that we humble ourselves before God and seek His will above our own. It is our responsibility to know what pleases
our Master and we do this by studying His Word and communicating with Him
through prayer.
In a
bond-servant and Master relationship the Master also had responsibilities. He had a responsibility to care for the
servants needs. This was a two way
relationship. The relationship that we
have, as believers, with God is also two way.
One of the names by which God is described is Jehovah Jireh, the God who
provides. I am sure many of you reading
this can attest to the goodness of God at different points in their lives
whereby God has met both small and big needs.
So, welcome
to the first part of our journey through James.
There will be lots for us to get our teeth into as we work our way
through. The great thing about the Book
of James is that we don’t have to second guess what he is talking about. He just gives it to us straight. I am excited about what I am going to learn
through the time in James and I hope you are too. Enjoy the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment