James, steeped in Jewish wisdom-traditions, knows that wisdom belongs to the very nature of God himself. He knows that wisdom comes to man only as a divine gift. He writes telling readers to ask for the divine gift of wisdom by faith.
It would be quite easy to glide into a religious pluralism and end up worshipping the vaunted images of the world – “Great is Ephesian Artemis!” – and not the reality of the Son of God. One would thus end up having a form of godliness but denying its power. Neither John the Elder nor I want anything to do with such people.
Did Jesus have Peter and the other apostles wade into waters over their heads to remove the scales from their eyes? Did he put them through the wringer to squeeze out unbelief?
Ivan relates the gospel events to the two widows. This has an acute effect on them. As he heads home, Ivan reflects on the implications of this and has an epiphany.
It seems to me, and your own experience will bear this out, that This Instant is the impetus of Your Best Life Now and that self-help schemes produce the thinness and self-deception of a tenuous now.
What do we talk about when we talk about apocalypse?
We are entering a season of celebrating Good News. But hold on. There are some, the same some since before 2016, who are now heralding a disastrous 2024.
“If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. . .”
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