James 1:27 - Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

The letter of James is one of the easiest books in the Bible to understand but the hardest to practice. James played a leading role in making Christianity a Universal Faith (Jews + Gentiles) and not just a Jewish sect. The key phrase in his letter was - ‘Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves’ (James 1:22). It was written to the dispersed Jewish Christians who were battered by trials from the outside and temptations from the inside. Two of their main flaws were worldliness and immaturity which James pinpointed to them.

On getting to know that these Christians were making distinctions between the rich and the poor inside the church, he advised them not to cultivate this outlook but to treat them alike. He urged them that if they could do this, they would fulfill the Royal law in scripture which challenges everyone to ‘love their neighbor as themselves’ (James 2:1 - 8). 

He claimed that only the practitioners of ‘pure religion’ would be able to demonstrate the ‘service of God’ by serving the poor widows and orphans and spending their own money without expecting anything in return.. He indicated that they should not just stop with kind words  but volunteer to serve them, as words cannot be substituted for deeds of love  (James 2:15, 16).

 Pure religion also demanded a life that is separated from the world, to serve the lost children of this world without getting contaminated. James believed that it is only through a separated life, service can be rendered.

Thought for the day: Pure religion is practicing God’s word through service and separation.