last night the conversation revolved around philippians 3:1-15 and this morning around james chapter 1.
James has a lot to say in chapter 1 alone (perserverance, faith, action, integrity, etc) and the final verse of the chapter in which he writes really struck me and challenged me.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." james 1:27
challenging me to keep in tension, in balance, the "church world" where i try to help people understand the kingdom of God and what i'm learning that to mean w/ our call to care for the fringe, for the disenfranchised. evaluating my time spent, when, how, with whom, understanding that we all have a different call and trying to gain perspective, understanding on how to hold it loosely. to live with compassion, with peace, walking in truth.
In philippians Paul says he presses on, and that phrase brings hope, brings encouragement. to press on, to move forward with meekness and openness to redirection, to engage in the process and realize the process will always continue. to get up after stumbling brush off and go.
peace.
