James 1:9

The Explanation

A letter has come. Someone unrolls it and begins to read out loud, and everyone in the house goes quiet.

Look around that room for a moment. On a bench near the door sits a man with dusty feet. His coat has three patches, and one of them is sewn on crooked. He has no money for oil, no money for a new coat. When he walks through the market, nobody calls out his name.

Not far from him stands a man in a beautiful cloak, deep red, with a ring on his finger. People bow a little when he walks by.

And now the letter is being read. It is from James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He writes about hard times and about asking God for wisdom. And then come these words:

"But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position."

The man with the patched coat looks up. High position? Him?

Yes. Him. "Humble circumstances" means: you have very little. Almost nothing. "Glory" means: be glad about something out loud, the way you shout when your team scores. And "high position" means: you are standing somewhere very high up.

So James says to the man on the bench near the door: you may be glad out loud, because God has put you somewhere high. Not because his coat suddenly turned into silk. It did not. But because God calls him brother. God's own child. And that is a higher place than any rich man's chair.

What Does This Mean?

People count things. They count coins, and shoes, and how big your house is. Then they decide who matters most.

God does not count that way.

James writes it right in the letter: the rich man is like a flower in the grass. In the morning the flower is beautiful. Then the hot sun comes with a scorching wind, and by evening the flower hangs down, dry and brown. Gone. Money is like that. It looks strong, but it withers.

Being God's child never withers. So the poor brother is not the smallest one in the room. He may lift his head. Not proud of himself, but glad about God.

The Common Thread

Do you know who else had no beautiful red cloak? Jesus. He was born where the animals slept. He walked dusty roads. He owned almost nothing at all. And He is the King of everything.

That is how God has always worked. He looks at the ones nobody counts, and He says: you are Mine.

And a bit further in this same letter, James writes about a crown. A crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him. Imagine that. A man with a patched coat, and God is keeping a crown for him. Would you have believed that, sitting on that bench near the door?

For You

At school there is probably someone who never has the newest things. No fancy shoes. An old backpack. Maybe other children laugh a little, or maybe they just never pick that child.

You can pick that child. Sit next to them at lunch. Ask them to play. Say their name out loud, because God knows their name too.

And here is the other side. When you get something new and you feel yourself getting a little proud, remember the flower in the grass. Nice things are fine. Just do not let them tell you who is important.

Tonight you could pray for someone who has very little. God listens to that.

Talk About It

Why do you think the poor man was surprised to hear he had a "high position"?

Who at your school or in your street is almost never picked? What is one thing you could do this week?

Praying Together

Lord God, You do not count our money. You count us as Your children. Thank You that You know my name. Help me to see the ones nobody sees, and to be glad about You instead of about my stuff. Amen.