James: A Life Transformed
A look at the Faith Journey of James
This week in our James series we are going to pause our progression through the letter itself, to take a look at the heart transformation of the Man behind the letter.
As we have walked through the book of James, it’s easy to see he takes Faith in Jesus and how we act seriously. They are inseparable for James.
But where did this passion come from in James’s heart?
James has experienced life in Christ and he knows it’s so transformative, so magnificent, so revolutionary that if it doesn’t change everything for us, we haven’t really experienced Jesus.
Mark 3:20-21
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
The crowd of people trying to see Jesus is so big, is so excited, desiring to be in his presence, that Jesus and his disciples cannot even have a meal.
Verse 21 records a different response from his family however.
When Jesus’ family heard about him and all that was happening, they didn’t come to join the crowd, they came to take him back home because they reckoned he was out of his mind.
Mark 3:31-35
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Within the crowd that is pressing in, those on the inside, there are some noticeably absent from this inner circle of followers. His own family…
In only a few words Jesus radically redefines what it means to be a part of HIS family.
He says “Look It’s not just who knows about me, it’s not even those who are related to me. My family is those who do the will of God, those who have responded by faith in Me as their Lord”
In one moment, Jesus embraced every seeker, every person who has the guts to bring their brokenness, their needs, and even their mess, before him. He stands with open arms to those who seek him, longing to transform and restore.
Where are you in this story?
Are you hungry for him, longing to be restored in his loving embrace? To know what it is to belong, to be forgiven and restored, to celebrate new life
Or are you outside with James and the rest, thinking this Jesus thing is crazy? Maybe it’s skepticism, maybe its fear that keeps you outside. Fear of what Jesus might say, that you’ve said no to Jesus too long or too many times.
Friends the beauty we find in the life of James is that it doesn’t end here in this moment of doubt. James will go on to live a completely different life than what we see here.
And so can you…
So what about James?
We know that James’ journey began in familiarity but ultimately gave way to living faith, that changed the trajectory of his life forever. From a doubting onlooker to a dedicated disciple, it was a magnificent transformation…
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Did you catch verse 7?
Then he (the resurrected Lord) appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
In words so simple they are easy to miss, I think we get a glimpse of what happened in heart and life of James that lead him to be the compassionate and zealous man we have come to know in his letter. James encountered the Resurrected Lord.
I believe that transformation is the source of passion, the reason James is so thorough and to the point in his letter. He doesn’t want a single one of his readers to miss out on the life that is available in Christ.
The grace offered to James in transformation is the same grace that God extends to you today.
No matter where you are in your Jesus story today- it doesn’t have to end there. Your life can be different because of Christ.
James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY