James 5:7-12
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord, is at hand.” (7-8)
Being patient for the coming of the LORD is compared to the farmer’s enduring wait for his precious fruit. The farmer who planted the seed takes good care of the seed even if he doesn’t see the fruit at that time. But, he never retreats from doing good as he is confident that his reward is getting ready for the right time. He channels the water to the crop, puts manure, and even pulls out some weeds that grow in the field.
His waiting has a lot of specialties.
- He works in the waiting time,
- He encourages others to work for good,
- He is aware of the changes in the weather situations and about the seasons,
- He takes care of the crops,
- He waits for a long and does not give up seeing slow growth.
As a Christian who awaits the coming of Jesus Christ, we have to possess the qualities that a farmer has.
- Work for your salvation. Keep a holy life.
- Encourage each other to do good and motivate them to share the love of GOD,
- Be aware of the changes around us, be alert about false doctrines and fight against it,
- Be on guard for the devil wants to devour the good fruit in us,
- Wait patiently and be of good cheer, the LORD is coming soon.
Establish or focus our hearts on the things above and be aware that He is at hand. It’s easy to get out of focus when things get delayed, but, as a farmer sow the seeds of hope to reap our fruit in eternity!
Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! (9)
Grumble means “complain or protest about something in a bad-tempered but typically muted way.” It starts with discontent as things get delayed and when we compare our life with the life of our brother. Even if a single is not poured out, the one who sees our heart hears it and He will judge us according to what we have done. The key thing every Christian ought to learn is patience. James is exhorting us to stop comparing our lives with others but to wait patiently for the right time to be lifted by His arms. Without patience, we will be condemned and judged by He who is at hand.
Our hardships must never be a hindrance to our love for one another. We should cultivate the habit of viewing life in the way GOD sees us and to be humble before Him.
My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. (10-11)
Here James is asking us to open our eyes to the prophets. They endured hardships but they never retreated from doing the ministry GOD has ordained on to them. He specifically adds a description, “who spoke in the name of the LORD”, it means, there were people who have spoken from their hearts. When we read 1 Kings 22, we can see the real meaning of what James was trying to convey. In this chapter, we see that Micaiah prophesies against King Ahab as he was planning to attack Aram to reclaim Gilead. Four hundred prophet prophesized that Ahab will be victorious but, Micaiah stood alone as the true spokesperson of the LORD. As a result, he was slapped by Zedekiah and was put in prison. Micaiah had to go through suffering as he stood for the truth, but, Ahab was killed in that battle. We can see more examples of the same while we go through the word of GOD. The one who stands for the truth is always persecuted and has to suffer from the people who are driven by the passions of this world. The word of GOD is always sharp that it blocks the way that could cause potential damage to our spiritual growth.
One of the best examples of perseverance is Job. He had no support from anyone around him. His wife ‘encouraged’ him to deny GOD and to kill himself whereas his friends turned to be the miserable comforters in his life. But, his faith stayed intact as he laid the anchor of hope upon the unchanging GOD. It is hard to believe that someone can stay patient and have never uttered a single word against GOD. Job was patient in his life as he was content in the seasons of his life. “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.” (Job 1:20). He worshiped GOD even after he was heavily stricken by the situations. What will be our first reaction when we are stricken by storms in this life? We can say Job was putting up the first line of defense of his spiritual battle. He cried with deep pain, but never murmured against GOD. Endurance is the product of worship and dependency on GOD. The one who tasted GOD as compassionate and merciful can never sin against GOD. “If a man were to attack me with a knife I would resist him with all my strength, and count it a tragedy if he succeeded. Yet if a surgeon comes to me with a knife, I welcome both him and the knife; let him cut me open, even wider than the knife-attacker, because I know his purpose is good and necessary.” (Spurgeon)
“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.” (12)
James is quoting what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:34-37). We need to have a clear stand while we speak up. A person who doesn’t have this character can never be trusted as the chance of change from his words is high.
