I've always liked James. He seemed kind of stern, and just laid out the truth for folks. At the same time, I always pictured him as the guy with the starched white shirt and tie at church. He was nice but really a little too much gung-ho sometimes, you know what I mean?
So as I've read through just a few of the beginning scriptures, I've realized that James is really committed to Jesus and what He stands for. James ain't messing around in his faith, and what it takes to pull other people in to see the truth.
He is a "slave" to the gospel. He is a "slave" to the story of his brother Jesus. And I don't mean a fake 'slave'-- he is completely, totally, sold out for Christ.
And it's easy to see I'm not very much like that.
This will be an interesting study; I will be challenging myself to step up, step out and sell out, all for the sake of the One who died for me.