And Paul? Are you kidding me? Remember the time that Paul was giving his big farewell speech and spoke late into the night until the dude passed out and fell out the window to his death? Long-winded wouldn’t even be the right word for that sort of thing – the guy could out-last the best politician!
However, not all the early church fathers were like this. James might be called the ‘Twitter Apostle’. He was brief and to the point. What Peter or Paul might take a full chapter to walk through, explaining in minutiae the most intricate details, James would clip off in a single, brief sentence.
In the book of Acts, Paul is defending himself to King Agrippa – he is given the floor in Chapter 26 verse 2, and doesn’t stop to take a breath until the end of verse 23. James would have probably done it in one verse, in a bite-sized twitter-like statement:
“God knows my accusers are wrong and I am innocent.” #MicDrop
Okay, he probably wouldn’t have added the #MicDrop – I took a bit of artistic license on that part… So let’s see a real example – this is how James introduces himself and greets the reader:
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings. (James 1:1)
And here is how Paul does serves up his greeting:
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7)
Don’t get me wrong – I love the writings of Paul! He wrote some of the most enduring and beautiful truths to be found anywhere. But if he was alive today, he would be that guy that sends out 14 consecutive tweets to finish a single thought.
So when James introduces himself (in a single verse), he immediately gets to the red meat:
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:2-3)
Deep truth in a fun-sized portion!
#ToThePoint
#LoveMatters