Scattered

“To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” –James 1:1

One of the toughest times in a person’s life is when they have to move. There are emotional connections to houses, to friends, and most importantly, to family. I have been blessed to not have to move much, but I know that Kristen and I have watched many close friends move away. The simple truth is that most of us will move many times throughout our adult lives.

As tough as it is to move, it is even tougher when a person is forced to move. This is the situation that the early Christians that James wrote to were in. Many of them were the early believers we read about in the book of Acts. As a result of the persecution that they were facing in Jerusalem, they were forced from their homes and their families. Many of them had roots there that would have run several centuries deep.

Let’s keep in mind that this was not a transient culture they were living in. Their idea of a U-Haul would have eaten straw and left an exhaust that you wouldn’t have wanted to step in. They couldn’t exactly put in for a transfer within their family microbusiness. They had to start from scratch.

Knowing the positions they were in, James brings up some very comforting language by reminding them that they were a part of a holy family. As Jews they would have remembered this language from the Old Testament. They would have remembered the stories of the past how God brought his people out of rough times, and it would encourage them that He would do it again. It would remind them that no matter how bad the persecution would get, they were still God’s people.

Though the trials we face today may not seem as harsh, the simple truth is that they are still trials, and God is still God. No matter how scattered we may get, we are still a part of a holy family. And no matter what we face, we believe whole-heartedly that Jesus will draw us together once again.