March 12 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 71—James 4:4–6

⁴ You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ 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"? ⁶ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Devotional:

Worldly self-seeking breaks your marriage vows to Christ. It breaks your fellowship with God. It also breaks God's heart. "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'?" (v. 5).

The approach of the whole epistle of James stems from the new birth—"Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). It starts from the fact of this inner transformation and pictures God as longing with a pure and jealous passion for your undistracted love for him.

When, however, God sees you instead with a "cheatin' heart"—loving and pleasing yourself rather than him—then he feels the anguish of unrequited love. "He yearns jealously!" That’s really an amazing thought! Think about it. God loves you so much that he actually envies the sinful self that you devote yourself to. He is jealous of it, because he sees you as loving it more than you love him.

Of his worldly people in the old covenant, God said through Ezekiel, "how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols" (Ezek. 6:9). Through Zechariah, he says, "Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion" (Zech. 1:14).The entire book of Hosea both dramatizes and declares God’s grief and jealousy over his spiritually adulterous people. Our sin grieves God (Eph. 4:30).

Do you believe that? Does it grieve you that your sin grieves the God who so loves you that he sacrificed his only begotten Son to save you?

Thanks to that saving sacrifice, there is forgiveness. "But he gives more grace." Imagine that! Even when you forfeit any claim on or right to his love and friendship, "he gives more grace."

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.