“God’s design for us”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Tuesday, May 27, 2025
James 1:16-27 (Forward, p. 29) CEV p. 1273
It is easy to overlook or miss out on just how God looks at those of us that are His friends and followers. Verse 18, in the Contemporary English Version, reads, “He wants us to be his own special people, and so he sent the true message to give us new birth,” but this doesn’t give us ‘the half of it’. The Greek for ‘his own special people’ reads ‘the first of his creatures.’ This idea stems from something in the Law of Moses (Exodus 13:2 and Leviticus 23:10) which established that the first-born of all animals, including humans, and the first part of the harvest, were special and belonged to the Lord.
It should not be anything of a stretch then, to assume that being special and belonging to the Lord should have some certain responsibilities. In other words, God has a purpose for us, a design for our lives. That is exactly what today’s passage has to say. I have chosen to sum these up using four words that begin with the letter ‘h’:
Hearing: responding to God’s message of salvation, and actually
obeying it; and hearing, listening to each other. Being slow both to
speak and to get angry.
Head: thinking and learning, looking into God’s mirror, God’s perfect
word and learning from it. Seeing ourselves as God sees us and
thereby being set free.
Heart: caring and showing compassion to others, especially those
who are needy or vulnerable in some way.
Hands: not giving into our anger but controlling our tongues, and
being humble and doing good instead. Working for what is right and not giving in to the agendas of this corrupt ‘world’ or doing anything that is immoral or evil.
These, then, are part of God’s design for us as His own special, beloved people, things that with His guidance and the help of His word and His Holy Spirit, we can most certainly accomplish, at least in part. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (verse 17).
“A friend and I once attended the consecration of a church building in Chattanooga. This small community had scrimped, saved, and worked for years to build a church they could call their own. We were strangers there and planned to leave right after the liturgy. Instead, we found ourselves invited to a reception at someone’s home. The reception was lavish. There was an enormous and delicious-looking buffet set up in the living room. To our surprise, they wouldn’t allow us to join the line. We were ushered into a small dining room off the kitchen, where just a handful of places were set. To our horror, we realized we were being escorted to a place of honour. We tried to argue. But they wouldn’t hear it. In the end, we gave up and ate, totally bewildered by this outpouring of generosity and hospitality. We drove back in silence, marveling at what had happened to us that morning.”
Moving Forward: “Have you ever experienced radical and unexpected hospitality? Have you extended that gift to others?”
A concluding note: what today’s author described as his experience in Chattanooga is exactly how God sees and treats us, namely, as His own special and honoured guests, treated with the utmost of welcome, generosity and hospitality in His ‘own’ place, His home!