James 5:19-20: Harvest of Hope
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
My dear friends . . .
What are we to make of James’ letter to us? How does he frame his closing remarks?
If you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth . . .
And surely we must know someone who is broken or abandoned. And just as surely we will know someone who is full of pride and over-confident.
Don’t write them off . . .
This may be difficult. James has asked us to find a way to communicate with those whose anxiety or pride have put them out of our reach; yet James admonishes us.
Go after them . . .
We have no excuses. James wants to see our faith played out in our works.
Get them back . . .
James wants to see us as wounded healers, as a light in the darkness, as salt for the earth.
And you will have rescued precious lives from destruction . . .
James urges us to bring hope to and out of those who despair and those who shun God.
And you will have prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God . . .
James urges us to look for God’s image in others. He asks that we continue to commit our work and our prayer to God as we struggle to unlock the goodness waiting to rise from so many wounded souls. He asks us to participate fully in God’s outrageous and daring harvest of hope.
Tomorrow, a prayer for harvesting hope.
Use the scripture link to find other versions of these verses from THE MESSAGE.
Images from: https://www.catholiccharities.net/Events/RegionalEvents/HarvestofHopeDinner.aspx and https://pastorrudytlc.com/2019/03/04/lent-and-love/
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