Christian Gems – Past & Present: Exegetically Speaking—by Spiros Zodhiates Wandering James 1:16 From Faith, Love & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James, AMG Publishers, 1997. “Do not err, my beloved brethren” (James 1:16). In the first fifteen verses of his first chapter, James has given us the negative truth about God, that He is in no way to blame for the desire to do evil generated in our minds and hearts. He has conclusively stated his case and now he wants to give the positive truth concerning God. Before he does that, however, he joins the two thoughts with a warning that is quite common in Scripture: “Do not err, my beloved brethren.” The word translated “err” is planásthe, the primary meaning of which in the original Greek is “to wander, to roam about, to stray from the subject or the right course.” James has stated a subject for study. He does not want us to wander from it. He wants us to stick to it. Yes, he realizes the subject is difficult, but he wants us to persevere in this study till we find out the part which God plays in the affairs of people, especially those who have been redeemed by the blood of His Son. And of course, in its metaphorical meaning, since this verb is in the middle voice, it could be translated, “Do not keep wandering in your own minds.” As in those days, so today there are many Christians wandering from the right path. This wandering sometimes is conscious and sometimes subconscious. But there is some comfort in the next phrase, “my brethren, beloved.” To digress does not strip you of the privilege of being a brother in Christ, a son of God, an heir of the heavenly glory. You may be a wanderer, but you are still a brother, and you are beloved, too. The wanderer can be won back to the very center of God’s heart only through love. What a lesson for all of us rude and proud Christians to learn. We are so prone to criticize others and so quick to tell them how deceived, how wrong, how sinful, how hell-deserving they are that we often neglect to look within. Before I proceed from this wonderful exhortation of James, may I speak a word to you, my Christian wanderer. It is too bad you lost the way in this maze called life’s journey. Be assured that God still loves you. He is calling you back. The love that will greet you as you enter upon the heavenly highway will be greater than you think. Maybe you have heard the story of that young man who was tired of the monotony and the restrictions of home and decided to leave, to go to a place where he could wander and be free. He got fed up with that, however, as he realized it was not what he had dreamed it would be, and so he decided to write to his mother and tell her that he was going to take the train back home. He told her that if she still wanted him, she should hang a white handkerchief on top of the tree in their yard which could easily be seen before the train stopped at the little hometown station. How amazed the wandering young man was when he found that his mother had used every available handkerchief to hang on the various branches of the tree. He could not understand how his mother could continue to love him. It was a mystery to him that his mother’s love had increased instead of diminished. It is so with the love of God for the wandering child. There was a young civil engineer of western Kentucky who assisted his father in his business of railroad prospecting and surveying. As he traveled from place to place, he fell into the society of loose men and acquired intemperate habits, more than his father seemed to be aware of. He shrewdly managed to conceal his evil habits from his parents who were wonderful Christians, the father being the choir leader and the mother a soprano singer. Once, while the young man was employed on a section of road forty miles from home, it became necessary to lay over from Thursday noon till Monday. His father would be detained till Saturday, reaching home in time for choir rehearsal, but the son returned at once and went to a saloon to begin a three-day spree. The saloonkeeper understood his case too well and kept him hidden in his own apartment. When his father returned, expecting to find the boy at home, a surprise awaited him. Trouble began when the question, “Where’s Harry?” informed the startled mother that he was missing. For the Sunday evening service she was to sing a solo, and by special request—because she sang it so well—her selection was to be the song “Where Is My Wandering Boy?” It seemed to her impossible to perform her promise under the circumstances, and when, on Sunday morning, a policeman found Harry, the certainty was no more comforting than the suspense had been, but she was advised that he would be “all right tomorrow morning,” and that she had better not see him until he sobered up. Toward night Harry began to come to himself. His father had hired a man to stay with him and see to his recovery, and when he learned that his mother had been told of his plight, the information cut him to the heart and helped to sober him. When the bells rang, he announced his determination to go to church. He knew nothing of the evening program. He was still in his working clothes, but no reasoning could dissuade him, and his attendant, after making him as presentable as possible, went with him to the service. Entering early by a side door, they found seats in a secluded corner, but not far from the pulpit and the organ. The church was filled, and after the usual succession of prayer, anthem, and sermon, the time for the solo came. It was probable the first time in that church that a mother had ever sung out of her own soul’s distress. “Oh where is my wandering boy tonight, the child of my love and care?” Every word was to her own heart a cruel stab. The great audience caught the feeling of the song, but there was one heart as near to breaking as her own. She sang the last stanza: “Go for my wandering boy tonight, go search for him where you will, but bring him to me with all his blight, and tell him I love him still. Oh where is my wandering boy?” Just then a young man in a woolen shirt and corduroy trousers and jacket made his way down the aisle to the choir stairs with outstretched arms, and sobbing like a child exclaimed, “Here I am, Mother!” The mother ran down the steps and folded him in her arms. The astonished organist, quick to take in the meaning of the scene, pulled out all his stops and played, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.” The congregation, with their hundreds of voices, joined in the great doxology, while the father, the pastor and the friends of the returned prodigal stood by him with moist eyes and welcoming hands. My prayer is that your response will be the same, terminating your wanderings. “Do not wander, my brethren, beloved.” God still loves you. And as you return to the center of all things, to the center of creation, to the heart of God, you will realize what our next verse declares, that every good and perfect gift is from Him. Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International for over 40 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine (Disciple’s predecessor), and authored dozens of exegetical books. (As published in Disciple Magazine, Vol. 6, #3, 3/24/2014
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 11:18:46 +0000
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