On Trial: Orphans, Widows and Foreigners
If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? We can get so consumed with the deeper questions of our faith, or simply get too busy to think about this question, and forget the basics of whether we're actually living and looking like a Christian. This week I will look at the topic of “religion that God accepts.”
I love the book of James. James was the earthly brother of Jesus. And, he didn’t truly understand his brother, the Christ until Jesus had ascended into heaven. I think being the brother of the Savior of the world came with its challenges, and any sibling of an earthly monarch knows it all too well. I’m sure there was jealousy and resentment on James’ part. But when he became born again, he truly became born again. And his book has no filters. James doesn’t sugar coat his exhortation to those that take the time to read it. Quite simply, the book of James is about what a real Christian should look like. It’s about “religion that God accepts.”
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world…. ”
James 1 opens up with faith and he just hits the reader with what a true follower of Jesus should look like. When you get to verse 27, James states the religion that God accepts: looking after orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself unpolluted by the world. If you were on trial for being a Christian, is there any evidence of you helping orphans and widows, and keeping yourself unpolluted from worldly things? And if we pair James 1:27, we see widows and orphans again:
“…and the stranger, and the orphan and the widow who are within your [city] gates, shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ”
“He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) by giving him food and clothing. ”
The message is clear and it’s simple in the religion that God accepts. It’s not the show-offy things. It’s not the smoke in the cathedral, how holy someone prays, how good the choir is, how sharply dressed the pastor is- it’s us humbling ourselves to care for those who are considered the lowest people in our world.
If you’re not already doing so already, how can you order your life to make room for caring for orphans, widows, the poor and immigrants in your city?
God bless you and go bless someone else!