The Winner

 No, I’m not still counting votes. This, after all, was not an election. I didn’t have a horse in the race, so I wasn’t waiting around twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the correct numbers to show up on my screen.

I tallied the votes a few days ago, but I needed to spend some time with the book we’re about to delve into and determine the best approach. If I’m going to take the time to write it out, and you’re going to take the time to read it, then it better be something substantive. Something worth both of our time.

When the votes started rolling in, I thought Job just couldn’t catch a break. Over and over, one after the other, on three different platforms, it was all James, all the time. Then, out of nowhere, Job started to make a show. He was a contender, to be sure, and the race got tighter as the days went by. Even so, it was not enough. The next book we will be delving into is The Epistle of James, and it promises to be an eye-opening journey, as having heard from one of Christ’s half-brothers, we will now hear from the other who happened to write a letter that was included in the canon of scripture.

Although they were brothers, James and Jude differed in character traits, which shows in their writing. While Jude came out both barrels blazing, James tried to be diplomatic and conciliatory, at least in the first few verses.

It’s also worth mentioning that though Jude wrote to those who are called and sanctified by God, James wrote to the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad. There is a reason for this, which we will delve into as we begin our journey because James wasn’t an early adopter of his half-brother being divine, or the Son of God, come in the flesh, who died and rose again. That he calls himself a bondservant of Christ while addressing his letter to the twelve tribes is significant, and it dispels doubts those of his time might have harbored regarding Jesus. Those who knew him knew his conversion was authentic and sincere because of his reputation.

As soon as we conclude our study of James, we will delve into Job, so no more voting for a while—my thanks to those who participated.

With love in Christ, 

Michael Boldea, Jr.