Working with God to heal the spiritually ill

Clearly James was much more concerned with acting on what we believe than on fancy, high-flown words. So, he ended the letter, not with some elegant flight of rhetoric, but with a simple encouragement to actively help turn back people who are wandering toward a wrong path. The ending of James “is similar to those of 1 John 5:16-20 and Jude 22-23. The endings of all three letters—James, 1 John, and Jude—call on the community to pray for those who sin so that they will change their evil ways.” * This is one value we see in small groups at Resurrection. In the relatively small home-based churches of James’ day, it was easy to notice if one or more members of the group were “wandering” away. That’s more difficult in services with several thousand (both in person and online), although we try. But when you’re involved regularly with people in a small group, it’s quite clear if anyone in the group is in danger of losing their way.

• Let’s be honest—the call to speak up to “bring a sinner back from the wrong path” may be even more intimidating than being invited to confess your sins to one another. But it’s important, no matter how challenging. “To see someone wandering off in a dangerous direction and do nothing about it is a tragic dereliction of duty. It may be hard to turn them back–they may insist that they are right and we are wrong!–but the effort must be made, precisely in the humility and patience which James has been urging all through.” ** Did anyone ever help to turn you back from wandering toward a wrong path? Are you willing to ask God to give you the humility and patience you need to do that for someone else?