This is another devotion from my friend Amy Quinlan. Enjoy! ~ Gail
James 1:27 talks about true faith, and it offers this twofold call: “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.”
In answering this call to true faith, we must:
First, be actively seeking to be others-focused, not self-absorbed. There is no purer example of this than Christ, whom we strive to imitate (Philippians 2:3-8).
Secondly, be “unstained from the world.” This is essential to our effectiveness in doing Kingdom work. Being constantly surrounded by distractions, temptations, and the lies of the enemy, we must be actively guarding our hearts and minds against corruption from the world, allowing us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Being in the world but “not of the world” (John 17:14-15), how do we as Christians remain unstained?
We must be proactive in keeping aligned with truth (Romans 12:2):
⮚ Memorizing Scripture to protect against temptation (Psalm 119:11)
⮚ Dwelling on God’s Word (Colossians 3:16)
⮚ Putting on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18)
We can wisely navigate each day in this fallen world with joy and conviction in true faith because “he who is in [us] is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
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For another important lesson from James, see Why Christian Lifestyles Are Not the Same as Non-Christian Lifestyles.
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I wish more attention had been given about the orphans and widows. The verse is very specific about them. The most vulnerable in our society suffer the most. The verse doesn't say to throw money at this situation, but to take action and be involved personally.
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