Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress...
James 1:27 NIV
Yesterday we thought about the "who".
Today it's the "when"
"In their distress"
In someone's time of need will I step in?
Step towards their distress, their hurt, their need.
Their mess.
The Greek word used for distress is "thlipsis".
It means persecution, affliction, distress, tribulation.
And it has the meaning of being hemmed in, without choices, when there seems no way out.
So, James tells us our religion should take us towards people who are the hurt, the marginalised, the discarded, and in their distress, when they're really feeling  like there's  no way forward, no way out, when they have no choices, to walk with them to find a way out.
To help find options.
Jim is not prescriptive about how that looks, so it's going to look different for you and for me, so how could this apply in 2019?
The expression of our love for God, is found in loving people - in their distress.
#loveGod
#lovepeople
#walkingeachotherhome