James 2:15 KJV
[15] “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,”
We know that our text today is connected to the context of this chapter. However, I want us to dwell on this verse and consider the poor and needy. As Americans, it is difficult for us to think about people going without the bare necessities of life. Even the homeless in America can find shelter, a soup line, or a local charity to feed and clothe them for free. America is still a land abounding in wealth, allowing even the poor to rise above this verse.
However, this was not true in the day that James lived, and it is also not true worldwide today. In Bible days, some people were naked and starving, and it still happens in our world today. We have all heard the stories of missionaries and seen the pictures of villages and communities that are naked and poor. I remember seeing a picture of a young man who had taken two-liter coke bottles, flayed them out, tied vines around them, and attached them to his feet to make a pair of shoes. Little children wearing shirts but no bottoms to keep them warm or allow them some dignity. What about the pictures of those whose stomachs have swelled due to the lack of food? Or, the instances where each rib is visible, and their countenance has fallen due to a lack of nutrition? These images break our hearts and serve as a reminder of how good God has been in our lives.
Jesus said the poor would be with us always. The poor need to be clothed and fed, but more importantly, they need the gospel preached to them. Let the brother or sister in our verse today serve to remind us of how good God has been to us. No one reading this devotional has ever had to worry about clothing to wear or food to eat. We must count ourselves blessed, again and again, that God has taken good care of us. We should live every day grateful for the daily provision our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.