Pure Religion

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. –James 1:27

To be pure means that something is free from that which would contaminate its being. Christ in His teachings makes it very clear that we are to care for those within our midst who are unable to care for themselves. When we allow the Holy Spirit of Christ into our lives means that we have submitted our being to something that is far greater than our self. Christ is very clear in His intentions for our life but we allow our faith to become polluted by the world and try to formulate a faith based upon our belief system rather than that which Christ has called us to do in His name.

In our society, orphans and widows do still exist. Sadly, many have turned a blind eye to their distress and we too often fail to reach out as we are commanded. There are too many men who have turned their back upon their responsibility of caring for the women with whom they have fathered children. Many single mothers and their children are living on the edge of our society but too many are more content with allowing themselves to be stained by the world.

Most of Christ’s calls against those living a life of sin were against the religious leaders who would exercise their authority over others in an un-Godly and sinful way. However, Christ does reserve a condemnation for the sinner who simply wants to build bigger and bigger barns. In the parable of the rich landowner, Christ tells of how the man said, “I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my goods.” (Luke 12:18) We have become a society in which our goods are more important to us than those who Christ is telling us to serve. Our stain is that we have allowed ourselves to believe the lie of the world that we deserve all that we have accumulated and we are not to use this blessing for others. We have been blessed with homes but we are not content and we need to build a bigger home and then we need more and more stuff to fill that larger home. One care is not enough for us so we need another one for no other reason to display our greed.

Christ reserves His sharpest rebuke for the church of Laodicea where He tells them that their actions make Him want to vomit. We go around believing that His command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) is only reserved for just a few. We allow ourselves to believe that Christ did not mean me. Christ is not telling us to go permanently but He is indeed telling us to GO. There are simply too many orphans and widows in this world in distress that need to be cared for in His name.

How much longer will God allow this nation to exist? We sit around and bemoan that things are not going well and we look to the false promises of man to lift us up but we ignore the truths and promises that God has revealed to us in His written word. Dedicate yourself to understanding that which God is calling you to do in His name and then GO and DO IT!