To Encourage You

James 1:1 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.”

The history of Judaism over the centuries has been that of being dispersed or scattered among other nations.  In the Old Testament we read of Israel’s captivity under the Assyrians, the Greeks and Persians, the Babylonians, and finally the Romans.  Often these nations would take many of the Jews as slaves to their own nations.  They were scattered far and wide by these and other means of persecution.  

As James opens his letter to his Jewish brothers and sisters in the verse above, he refers to them as “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.”  Here he is referring to those Messianic Jews that had been scattered by persecution.  One place we see reference to this is in Acts 8 where it talks about how “Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”  And what was the result of all this? “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”  

Isn’t it interesting how God sovereignly guides even persecution to further His own will?  It’s just one more example of the truth that Joseph spoke to his brothers after he had risen to be a ruler second only to Pharoah in Egypt after they had sold him to a caravan in an evil plot to rid him from their lives. After Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and they were totally at his mercy as to whether they would live or die, he said this: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20).  With these words, we see a shadow of how God so often works.  He sovereignly directs the circumstances of our lives, both those that might be “good” or “bad” in our eyes, to move us into places where we can be his salt and light scattered throughout the world.  No matter where we as believers might find ourselves, no matter how we ended up there, we should understand that God’s hand was upon it.  We are where we are, even now, dispersed hither and yon by whatever means, to not just live our lives as a result of “chance” events, but to serve the Lord in that place.  

So, where do you find yourself today? To which place and circumstance of life has the divine Farmer placed you to spread His seed?  Do you realize that that is one of the major reasons you are where you are?  Do you see this as one of the greatest missions in life to which God has called you?  You see, among Jesus’ last words as He ascended into heaven were these: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Then He also said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).  Some people have intentionally obeyed this command by going throughout the world as foreign missionaries.  However, we should understand that Jesus didn’t leave the fulfillment of His will at the whim of just a few of those who call themselves by His name.  You see, it is His determined will that this would happen. It is in His sovereign direction that this will happen whether we realize it is happening or not.  It is at His direction that you and I have been dispersed to the places in which we find ourselves.  And it is His sovereign will that we be serving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength right where He has placed us today. 

So, are you doing it? Are you telling those in your neighborhood, your family, and your workplace about Him? Have those you enjoy recreating with heard about the truth of the gospel from your lips?  Are you planting the life-giving seed that is the Word of God where the Lord has directed you to scatter it?  Do you see yourself as one of those that has been dispersed by the Lord to bring Him glory?  You see, that is exactly what you are if you are a believer, no matter if you realize it or not.