James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Every part of James is packed with extremely practical, even hard-hitting, truth, so it’s hard to choose what to write on. However, that can be said for a lot of the Bible, because after all, it’s God’s Word to us! This particular verse is a reminder to be grateful. I’m reminded of a refrigerator magnet we had at one point that said, “Happiness is seeing a beautiful sunset and knowing whom to thank.” The Japanese translation of this verse inserts something I don’t remember seeing in English translations. It specifies that the “shifting shadows” are because of the movements in the heavens, ie. the sun and the moon. God created the light, and the things that give us light, but He Himself does not change, the way we see things change on the physical plane. The physical world changes, no matter how solid and permanent it might seem. Sometimes we see news items of natural landmarks disappearing, because the very forces that created them work to their destruction. There was a cliffside that looked so much like a man’s face that it became a symbol of the state of New Hampshire, but a few years ago that cliffside collapsed, so the “face” exists only in photographs and on car license plates. That’s a good reminder that as He told Malachi, only God doesn’t change. (Malachi 3:6) In the physical world, it has understandably been said that “The only constant is change.” We can’t stop time and entropy. That’s why all the hoopla over “climate change” is such a scam. Everything in the physical world is constantly changing, so we need to fix our hopes and our affections on the only One who doesn’t change. Thankfully, He is incredibly loving and gracious, and delights to give us good things. We just need to remember where they came from!

Once again I am reminded to be grateful for the upbringing I had. My parents were very aware that every good thing came from God, and they raised their children to know it as well. There is a constant tension between knowing that God provides everything good and knowing that we aren’t to be passive. Perhaps the ultimate example of that is expressed very famously by Paul: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) God has provided eternal salvation for us, the ultimate “perfect gift,” but He doesn’t expect us to just sit around, but rather do the good works that He has prepared for us to do. I have some tension with a close friend, because I tend to focus on “God will provide,” and he focuses on “We need to plan and act.” This church has never really set a budget, because we don’t know in advance what God will provide when, and that drives my friend up the wall. I do need to listen to him, but at the same time never forget that God is the One who provides, and so keep my focus on Him.

Father, this is an area where I need to keep growing. Help me grow particularly in hearing You, so that I will indeed do all the good works that You have prepared for me to do, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!