Living in the Spirit

August 26, 2021

Scripture Reading:
James 1:17-27

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. –James 1:17-21

The scripture above is the only one I could find in the NRSV version of the Bible that calls God the Father of lights. Genesis tells us that God was the creator of light. The book of John describes and emphasizes Jesus as the Light of the World. God’s lights allow for no shadows—no gray areas.

We often find ourselves hiding in the shadows of our world. We do not want to acknowledge what we see but do not want to see. Isaiah 6:9 records God instructing Isiah to ‘Go and say to this people:

“Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.” Matthew 13 reports Jesus quoting Isaiah’s message and then saying to his disciples,  But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.

Perhaps it is human nature to hide in the shadows. However, in times like we live in today, we must not only see what God is calling us to see, but we must also respond as conduits of God’s light to the world.

Prayer: Help us, O Lord, let our light shine as a reflection of your light. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.