James 2:1-7

James 2:1-7
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 It's pretty easy to read this and agree with everything James is saying and then go out into the world and live the opposite.  Reading it in a peaceful setting, the thought doesn't demand much of us, but when we go out and are confronted with a choice of who we want to sit by at lunch, often we turn to what is comfortable, relegating these challenging words of Scripture to another time and place.
  God makes us uncomfortable because he wants us to grow -- he's teaching us to love as he loves, which is not conditional upon outward appearance, but rather is unconditional, based on a love more pure than we can imagine.  We forget that we can be hard to love sometimes.  We forget that, without Christ's grace covering us, we would not be able to approach the throne of grace.  It would be wise for us to remember how much grace we have received, and how God loves us freely, without merit.
  May we root ourselves in God's unconditional love, and may we look upon others as people of enormous worth, created in the image of God, loved immensely by the one who hung the stars in the sky.  Perhaps in remembering our own unworthiness and looking at others through the lens of grace, we can share unconditional love not based on appearances.