James himself knew the truth of suffering. In fact, Eusebius, the great church leader and historian, wrote that about the year 66 A.D., James was finally martyred for his faith by being pushed off the pinnacle of the temple by Jews who were incensed with his Christian testimony. The pinnacle was a point in the wall that leaned out over the Kidron Valley and the drop is about a hundred feet. This was the exact place where the devil took Jesus and tempted him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple.
James the Just, the half brother of Jesus, was pushed off this pinnacle and dropped 100 feet straight down into the Valley. Eusebius reports that, incredibly, the fall did not kill him. He rose from that crumpled position and managed to rise to his knees to pray for his murderers. The mob completed the assassination by stoning him to death.
James the Just, the half brother of Jesus, was pushed off this pinnacle and dropped 100 feet straight down into the Valley. Eusebius reports that, incredibly, the fall did not kill him. He rose from that crumpled position and managed to rise to his knees to pray for his murderers. The mob completed the assassination by stoning him to death.
In verse 17 it says:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
In the midst of this passage on trials and testings, we see James suddenly talking about God giving perfect gifts! What can this mean? He is refered to as the "Father of Lights", and the Greek actually says the "Father of the Lights." This would refer to the familiar lights to the reader: sun, moon, stars...and the gifts he gives have no shifting shadows, such as we see in eclipeses ... no moon shadowing the sun, nor the earth throwing a shadow on the moon, etc. The Father is Light and there is no darkness in Him at all. If I am in the darkness, all I need to do is to reach out to God for safety.
The gifts He gives are perfect, but remember, this is with an eternal picture in mind.
You see, there are times when I get a gift that doesn't seem good right now, but later on I see its worth. For instance, in my first year at college, my brother Bruce sent me an odd package. It wasn't what I wanted, because I would have liked a pie, cookies or cakes. Instead, he sent me stamps, quarters, tape, rubber bands, index cards, and envelopes. I didn't like the package... at first.
It turned out to be the most useful package I received in my four years of undergrad college life. In the long run, it was the best gift I could have received.
Trials right now? No, I don't like them, but through the years, I've seen how tests have helped me in the long run... and each time brings me right back to looking at Jesus. Happily.
