Compiled By: Lisa K Gonzales
Source: The Life Application Study Bible
7 “Dear brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.” ~ James 5:7-8
The farmer must wait patiently for his crops to grow; he cannot hurry the process. But he does not take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields. There is much work to do to ensure a good harvest. In the same way, we must wait patiently for Christ’s return. We cannot make Him come back any sooner. But while we wait, there is much work that we can do to advance GOD’s Kingdom. Both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their labors. Do not live as if Christ will never come. Work faithfully to build His Kingdom. The King will come when the time is right.
“Do not grumble about each other, my brothers and sisters, or GOD will judge you. For look! The great Judge is coming. He is standing at the door!” – James 5:9 – When things go wrong, we tend to grumble against and blame each other for our miseries. – 11 “‘Who told you that you were naked?’ the LORD GOD asked. ‘Have you eaten the fruit I commanded you not to eat?’ 12 ‘Yes,’ Adam admitted, ‘but it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit, and I ate it.’ 13 Then the LORD GOD asked the woman, ‘How could you do such a thing?’ ‘The serpent tricked me,’ she replied. ‘That is why I ate it.’ ” – When GOD asked Adam about his sin, Adam blamed Eve. Then Eve blamed the serpent. How easy it is to excuse our sins by blaming someone else or circumstances. But GOD knows the truth, and HE holds each of us responsible for what we do. When we have done wrong, we must admit our wrong attitudes and actions and apologize to GOD. Do not try to get away with sin by blaming someone else. All of GOD’s commands are for our own good, but we may not always understand the reasons behind them. People who trust GOD will obey because GOD asks them to, whether or not they understand why GOD commands it.
Blaming others is easier than owning up to our share of the responsibility, but it can be both destructive and sinful. Before we judge others for their shortcomings, remember that Christ the Judge will come to evaluate each of us. He will not let us get away with shifting the blame to others. – 1 “‘Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. 2 For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. 3 And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can not see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friends eye.” – Matthew 7:1-5 – Jesus tells us to examine our own motives and conduct instead of judging others. The traits that bother us in others are often the habits we have ourselves. Our bad habits and behavior patterns are the very ones that we most want to change in others. Do you find it easy to magnify others’ faults while excusing your own? If you are ready to criticize someone, check to see if you deserve the same criticism. Judge yourself first, and then lovingly forgive and help your neighbor. Jesus’ statement, “Stop judging,” is against the kind of hypocritical, judgmental attitude that tears others down in order to build oneself up. It is not a blanket statement to overlook wrong behavior of others but a call to be discerning rather than negative. We must all do as Paul taught and let GOD be the final judge. GOD HIMSELF will separate HIS obedient followers from pretenders and unbelievers. The real evidence of our belief is the way we act. To treat all persons we encounter as if they were Jesus is not an easy task. What we do for others demonstrates what we really think of Jesus.
LORD, YOUR Word is so straightforward and powerful – it gives us encouragement and chastises us at the same time. Help us Father GOD, not to judge others before seeing our own faults. When we have done wrong LORD, help us to admit our wrong attitudes and actions and apologize to YOU. Do not allow us to try to get away with sin by blaming others. We know and understand that all of YOUR commands are for our own good – we may not always understand the reasons behind them, but we trust YOU, Father and we will obey because YOU ask us to, whether we understand YOUR commands or not. Thank YOU, Father GOD, for loving us enough to take the time to not only love and encourage us, but to chastise us when we need it.
Photo: Port Lavaca (Texas)
Photographer: Lisa K Gonzales
Click on the photo to enlarge
