 | Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. |
Orphans and widows were the poor and powerless in 1st Century Israel. Land and opportunities were based upon lineage, so to not have a husband or father was to have no future. James is challenging the Christians of his day to not merit their spirituality upon how well they could recite doctrine, but how well they lived it. Thankfully, the early Church understood this. When the ancient world threw out the orphans and widows, Christianity offered them a unique haven. This was noticed by Greeks and Romans alike and caused Christianity to spread around the world. One must ask, would our actions today match up to theirs?
Today's Commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, Grace NYC
What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse