Good morning. James
admonishes those who say I'm gonna do this or that; and yet they don't know
what life will be like tomorrow. They should say if the Lord wills, we will do
this or that. The next verse gives us the clue as to what was wrong. As it is,
you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. It's not that you have
to use the words if the Lord wills. You could be using that as some sort of
magic talisman to bring good results. As always, it is the attitude. They were
boasting that they were going to do whatever they wanted to and it would
succeed. To one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it
is sin. Yes there are sins of omission and not just commission. He then gets
all over the rich who trust in their wealth and treat the people that work for
them pitifully. Be patient therefore until the coming of the Lord. The farmer
waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it
gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for
the coming of the Lord is at hand. The farmer cannot make the crops grow any
faster by being impatient; and we cannot make the coming of the Lord happen any
quicker by being impatient about it. Father thank You that the reader knows the
future You have for him/her. He/she waits patiently for the results.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
Comments
Post a Comment