A Reflection on James 2:26

“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.”

For me, this is one of the most challenging verses in the Bible, saying that as you are dead if you live without the Spirit of God; you are also dead if you live with faith, but without works. As the author also says in James 1: 22 “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. . ."

This passage challenges us to live in the present at all times, for just as the present is the only place we can meet the Spirit of God, so is the present the place where works must occur. We cannot rely on our past ‘works’ nor on those we intend to do ‘some day’ when we have the time; or the energy; or the resources. We are asked to live as Jesus did, to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God. ~Lynn Edward