James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. (James 1:1)
What does it mean to live the Jesus way as “sojourners and exiles” (1Peter 2:11)? This question has been pondered throughout the history of God’s people. It takes on particular significance when the church is undergoing persecution or living in a culture that is less influenced by Judeo-Christian values and may even become hostile to the Christian faith. Such situations are not a license to abandon the Jesus way and to fight fire with fire. Instead, it is an opportunity for deeper reflection upon and commitment to bringing our lives more into conformity with Jesus and His word.
As I begin a series of posts on the book of James, the first verse of the epistle notes this exilic reality. It is there in the word, “Dispersion”. Not a word we use every day. But behind it is this idea of scattering, of displacement. Some will speak of the Diaspora (the Greek word behind “dispersion”) in reference to the Jewish nation.
The concept has three basic meanings. There is the physical sense of actual geographic scattering (cf. Acts 8:1). Then, there is the social sense pertaining to living lives on the margins of an antagonistic society. Finally, there is poetic sense in reference to our heavenly citizenship (cf. Philippians 3:20) and how this world is not our home but we are simply passing through. While the first sense has been the experience of some believers, the other two are fairly common amongst Christians, regardless of specific time, place, or circumstances.
This theme of scattering/dispersion/exile runs throughout the Scriptures. We see it in our first parents being driven out of the garden of Eden. It happens to individuals, like King David, who is displaced from his home, most notably as he is pursued by King Saul and also when his son, Absalom, overthrows him in a coup. God warns His people that continued hardheartedness and disobedience will lead to him removing them from the Promised Land, which eventually happens to the northern kingdom (by the Assyrians) and later the southern kingdom (by the Babylonians). While not all such scatterings are bad (God sends Jacob and his family out of Canaan into Egypt to save them from famine; God brings persecution to scatter the church in Acts 8), exile was primarily viewed negatively.
I believe that dispersion and exile are lenses that we in the church need to embrace in order to understand our lives at this present time. We are more like the people of God living in Babylon than those enjoying the blessings of the reign of King David. So, we need to look to the model of Daniel, for example, on how we ought to live. And we should heed the words of Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon, when he wrote: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters, multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare (Jeremiah 29:5-7).
Saints, dispersion/exile is the natural state of Christians at some level. This is not a reason to fear. Nor is it justification to adopt an “ends justifies the means” mentality. We are still called to live as Christians regardless of the particular circumstances in which we find ourselves. The way of life, for example, that we have been examining in Romans 12 is not to be set aside in tough times. Instead, let us walk by faith in the power of the Spirit in those circumstances, knowing that it is God who has placed us there (check out Jeremiah 29:7 again - who sent them into exile?) and He is sovereign over not only us but also the situations of our lives and even over those who would oppose us and seek our harm. Embrace life in the dispersion not in a spirit of fear but of power and love and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
