Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
James, remember, is talking to fellow Jews. Jews, by nature, are innately historical. I know of no other race or tribe that has such an extensive, detailed and authentic written history of their existence. They also seem to have a perverse inclination to record their most embarrassing moments and worst impulses.
God has impressed on them a need to know who they are, and so even Jews who do not believe in a judgment or an afterlife still know their history. It is a long history of failure. Failure to listen to God.
Continue reading “James 5: 10 — A History of Pain”