If the Lord Wills

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (James 4:11-17, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
To live a life of submission requires that we have a humble heart. James issues three very practical warnings against living with a spirit of arrogance and pride. Let us hear what he has to say and humbly yield ourselves to God's authority.

Verses 11-12 are actually tied to the first 10 verses of this chapter. In these verses James issues a warning against speaking evil of a fellow Christian. He seems to have in mind the kind of slander or gossip which eats its way like a cancer into a Christian fellowship, and requires urgent treatment if it is not to prove fatal. The point is this: anyone who goes around gossiping and slandering others is thereby implying that the ordinary "law" which applies to Christians—that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves—does not apply to them. They are above it! They can look down on such petty standards from a great height! They are, says James, "judging the law," instead of trying to do what the law says. But to take such a stand is not just foolish and arrogant. It is to usurp their very role of God himself (verse 12). There is only one Lawgiver, only one Judge. And he can either rescue or destroy.

James' point in verse 12 is that only God is in a position to pass the kind of judgment that a Christian is making when he or she speaks evil of another Christian. But this verse may also be a warning. The Lawgiver and Judge can indeed rescue and destroy—and, if you have set yourself above his holy and royal law of freedom, you may find that you yourself are judged by that law.

The two halves of this passage are both, therefore, warning against the temptation to put yourself in the place of God. Verses 13-16 highlight this danger in relation to the making of future plans. Here is a Christian who is running a small business. Alright, he thinks to himself, I'll go off to a different town and ply my trade there and make some mas dinero. He thinks that the future can be planned like that, all laid out. Perhaps there is even a suggestion that, since we are now part of the family of God our plans can be made more securely, because God is on our side!

Whatever the case on that point, James again has strong words in store. Don't you realize what your life is like? Think of the mist you see out of the window on an autumn morning. It hangs there in the valley, above the tiny bit of water in the lake. It is beautiful, evocative, mysterious; yes, just like a human being can be. Then the sun comes up a bit further, and… the mist simply disappears. That's what your life is like. You have no idea what today will bring, let alone tomorrow.

The lesson, once more, is humility, applying what had been said in verses 6 and 10: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." Learn to take each day as a gift from God, and to do such planning as is necessary in the light of that. 

Speaking of planning, I believe there's nothing particularly wrong with making plans. In fact, in reading the book of Acts, I believe it's quite apparent that Paul and his companions planned out their mission trips. Then, in many of his letters, he intimated plans to visit particular churches and communities. So, there seems to be nothing wrong with making future plans, as long as we're doing so with a humble heart and an openness to God's leading. That is the key point to remember. God despises arrogance and pride but he loves and blesses humility.

The chapter ends with a warning which is far more general, and indeed far more worrying, than what has gone before. Not to do what you know you should do is actually to sin! It isn't enough to avoid the obvious acts of sin. Once you learn the humility to accept God's royal law and to live by, to accept God's sovereign ordering of all life and to live within that, then you will see more clearly the positive things to which you are being called. This may be a major life-decision, a question of your whole vocation and path of life. Or it may be the still, small, Spirit-given nudge to do a small act of kindness for a neighbor or stranger. But once you have had that nudge, that call, then to ignore it, to pretend you hadn't heard, is a further act of pride, setting yourself up in the place of God. Remember: God hates arrogance but loves humility. Let us humbly walk in obedience and submission to his leading in our lives.


THOUGHTS TO PONDER:
James warns that no human controls tomorrow and that life is dependent upon God. The look must always be beyond ourselves to God, with an appeal to God's graciousness and guidance. Requisite planning has its place; so do we have a place—humble before God, prudently seeking God's control for our lives.

How does the following quote increase your understanding of submitting to God's will? 

"But it really would seem as if God's own children were more afraid of His will than of anything else in life—His lovely, lovable will, which only means loving-kindnesses and tender mercies, and blessings unspeakable to their souls! I wish only I could show to everyone the unfathomable sweetness of the will of God… He loves us—loves us, I say—and the will of love is always a blessing for its loved one. Some of us know what it is to love, and we know that could we only have our way, our beloved ones would be overwhelmed with blessings… And if this is the way of love with us, how much more must it be so with our God, who is love itself! Could we but for one moment get a glimpse into the mighty depths of His love, our hearts would spring out to meet His will and embrace it as our richest treasure; and we would abandon ourselves to it with an enthusiasm of gratitude and joy that such a wondrous privilege could be ours." (Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life)

 

WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I just realized that today is the 21 year anniversary of the day I was injured. Talk about a wrench being thrown into my plans! I was 18 years old, had just graduated from high school, and was looking forward to all the crazy things that most college-age guys dream about. I had dreams of playing baseball in college and then going on to serve as a high school coach. But, all that changed in the blink of an eye. Nevertheless, I rejoice in all the things that God has taught me through my paralysis. Life hasn't always been pleasant, but it's been good. God has shown me things and taught me things through my paralysis that I most likely would've never learned or experienced otherwise. In many ways, I'm grateful for my physical limitations. I'm so grateful for the way that God has surrounded me with an amazing family and so many numerous, gracious, selfless friends. God has shown me his love through the people that have loved and ministered to me in practical ways. I'm eternally grateful for love, support, and friendship of the people of PRF. Here's a picture that we took just a couple of days after I was injured.