Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? –James 4:5 (ESV)
It is difficult to understand the meaning of this Scripture. Some wonder whether ‘the spirit’ that James refers to is the human spirit or God’s Holy Spirit that he gives to believers. While I haven’t completely figured that out yet, the portion of this Scripture that jumps out at me concerns the jealousy of God. Now, this is not a jealousy that someone would have in an impure way, such as being jealous over your neighbor’s new car. Rather it is more like you being jealous in a pure way if some guy was flirting with your wife.
This week in church I discussed how God loves us like the very best of husbands love their wives. The language in the original Greek here displays us in a feminine sense, which reinforces the idea of us being God’s bride. He longs for us to be intimate with him and only him. When we sin against him and ‘cheat’ on him, it destroys the purity of that relationship. Yet, he keeps taking us back.
I heard another discussion that I also appreciated concerning the jealousy of God. The idea is that because God is all knowing, he knows what is absolutely best for us. To put it in very human terms, he has huge dreams for us because he created us to live out those desires. When we are not living out those desires (which are pure), then he is very jealous because we are not being the people that he has created us to be.
Who does God most desire for you to be? I can promise you it is not about the talents that the world sees but about the character that God sees. When we develop that character, then God can greatly use those talents for his glory.
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The only thing I disagreed with from Sunday was the idea that Tim would deck Dustin for hitting on his wife. Let's be clear, Tim would handle the situation but I don't think he would resort to violence unless Dustin persisted in his jerk-hood.
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