Friday, March 20, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: James 2-3
Key Verse
James 2:23 — “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
Devotional Thought
James will not let us keep our faith politely abstract. In these two chapters he walks us straight into the assembly and points at two visitors: a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel, and a poor man in vile raiment. The usher’s heart is revealed by where he seats them. Then James turns to the hungry brother with no coat, the one we dismiss with “Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled” while our hands stay in our pockets. And finally he points at the tongue — that little member that blesses God and curses men made in His similitude, sometimes within the same hour. On this March morning, with winter loosening its grip and spring beginning its slow work, James asks whether our faith has any flesh on it. A dormant tree gives no evidence of life until sap moves and buds appear; so faith that never moves the hands, the seating chart, or the tongue is, by James’s plain verdict, dead.
Notice how practical his logic is. He does not set works against faith; he shows that works are faith’s visible body. Abraham’s faith “wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect” when he bound Isaac on the altar. Rahab’s faith proved itself when she hid the messengers and sent them out another way. Both acted, and their acting was not a rival to trust but its evidence. The same is true of the tongue. Bits turn horses; a small helm turns great ships driven by fierce winds; a spark kindles a forest. So a careless word can defile a whole body and set a whole life ablaze. James is not scolding us into silence; he is calling us to a wisdom from above that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits.”
This is the season for that wisdom to show itself. Lenten self-examination is not morbid introspection; it is the honest look at where we have shown partiality, where our charity has been only a sentence, where our speech has been a fountain pouring out both sweet and bitter water. The royal law still stands: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” And mercy still “rejoiceth against judgment.” So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty — the law that frees us to love without respect of persons, because the poor of this world are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom promised to them that love Him.
Reflection
- Where in your own assembly or daily life have you shown “respect of persons” — honoring the impressive and overlooking the poor — and what would mercy look like there this week?
- Does your speech this week sound like a fountain yielding both sweet and bitter water, and what would it cost you to let the wisdom from above govern your tongue?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, Thou art the Lord of glory who showed no respect of persons, but welcomed the poor, the sick, and the sinner. Forgive us for the partiality that seats the wealthy in good places while the needy stand beneath our footstool. Forgive the faith that speaks peace but gives no bread, and the tongue that blesses Thee and then wounds men made in Thy similitude. Make our faith alive with works of mercy, and tame in us what no man can tame. Let the wisdom from above be pure and peaceable in our homes and churches, and let mercy rejoice against judgment in us, for Thy name’s sake. Amen.