4. How Love Works
When we think of the epistle of James, we usually think of the theme of faith – and perhaps, if we know the book well, the theme of wisdom. But there is a third theme in this epistle: that of love. While it is not as noticeable, the theme of love nevertheless underlies a great deal of what James says from the beginning of his letter to its end.
Sometimes the concept is there before us, but we may not see it because the exact word "love" is not used. Take this well-known verse as an example:
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27 ESV). Although we do not find the word love used directly here, this verse actually summarizes James' teaching on love of others (exampled by "visiting orphans and widows") and love of God (exampled by "keeping ourselves unstained from the world"). These two applications of love – toward God and toward others – are stressed repeatedly in the course of the apostle's letter:
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him (James 1:12, and see also James 2:5). If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right (James 2:8). But love for God and neighbor is more often implied in what James writes than spelled out verbally. We must look for the love in James' message – and when we find it, it is usually an aspect of one of the other themes he speaks about. This is not because love is secondary in James' mind, but because he is showing us, in fact, how love works.
Take the example of faith itself. Because faith is the leading and most obvious theme of this epistle, we do not always notice that James' words on faith also teach a lesson about love. Consider what the apostle says in regard to faith without works:
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:14-17 ESV). Here, it is easy to be so focused on what James says about works being the necessary expression and fruit of faith that we forget these are works of love that he is talking about. In fact, whenever James speaks of works, he is speaking of works of love – rather than simply works done out of duty or in an effort to earn salvation – and when we realize this, we see that his whole discussion of faith is relevant to our understanding of love.
This principle holds true of much of what James says on other subjects. To take another example, look at what he says about the tongue:
… no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God (James 3:8-9 ESV). Here we see that the twin aspects of love of God and love of neighbor cannot be separated. James' warning regarding the misuse of the tongue is framed in terms of the fact that we cannot both love ("bless") God and not love ("curse") people.
Consider a final example which is all the more important because it forms the closing statement of James' epistle:
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins (James 5: 19-20). This conclusion of James' letter provides yet another example of his stress on love. The kind of love that seeks to help the "lost sheep" is the same kind of love Christ himself exhibited in his teaching, his life, and his death.
So, although the word "love" may only appear a few times in this epistle, the call to love is central to its entire message. James teaches us how love works. No other book in the Bible makes it clearer that love is an action, not just an attitude. The greatest love is recognized not by what we feel, but by what we do because of what we believe.
In reality, the epistle of James calls us to a life of love just as much as it calls us to a life of faith – a life where faith and love are inseparably combined. James teaches us that faith accomplishes the most when it produces the fruit of love, and love accomplishes the most when it proceeds from the root of faith.
PART TWO:
1, 2 PETER –
HOPE, KNOWLEDGE, LOVE