“James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. Greetings”
Colin, a bondservant of God and Jesus Christ; to those of the church scattered abroad that may happen to read this blog:
Greetings from El Salvador.
As I read this verse, the second phrase: “to the twelve tribes” gives me a sense of the breadth and width of James’ influence and authority. James’ ministry was specifically appointed to the baptized people of Israel as a head elder in Jerusalem. Now imagine the responsibilities and tasks this man had-- probably numerous. He had to minister and pastor the thriving yet poor church in Jerusalem, defend the faith from the legalistic Judaisers in the capital of Judaism, he had to delegate and discipline his fellow leaders and help alongside them to grow in their walks with Christ, plus many more things including the possibilities of being the head of a family. Yet finding gaps within his schedule, he capitalized on them by writing this divine letter full of encouragement, correction, and exhortation.
Application: The Holy Spirit has been convicting me for a couple of days to follow James example and write letters to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I tried limiting myself just to my parents, supporters, and fellow Igniters which are working in Costa Rica and Uganda; but James didn’t jusrt write to the twelve tribes that might be close to him but the “twelve tribes scattered abroad.” So
I’m also going to write letters to my brothers and sisters I’ve left in Vancouver that I don’t usually contact with and build them up and stir them for love and good works.
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