“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world”

James 1:27

I looked up the word Greek word, επισκεπτεσθαι, translated as “visit,” and one of the definitions offered is “to relieve.”

The unification of service and religion.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Nowadays these two are more often than not, independent. Religion is seen as a list of chores, and the person who goes to Sunday church, listens to the Christian radio station, and forwards the chain emails warning against that Golden Compass movie is sufficiently religious. On the other hand, service might be seen as an attempt at significance, trading time and money for a good-person feeling. Certainly the two are not mutually exclusive, and some might argue that they are in some way related.

But that isn’t what the book of James says.

These two are one and the same. “Religion… IS this: to visit widows and orphans in their affliction.” And it is in bringing these two together that each becomes what it is truly meant to be. Religion becomes ACTION when service is added to the mix. An active relationship with Christ almost invariably stirs up compassion for others. Rob Bell helps pinpoint the cause of this when he boils much of Jesus’ ministry down to a single statement:

“People are worth dying for.”

And that makes sense, right? I mean, that’s WHY Jesus comes to earth. He takes on human flesh because people are worth dying for, and he intends to die for them.

So if we can easily see that people are worth dying for by examining Jesus’ life, then it’s a given that these people are valuable enough to deserve food and clothing. People are worth whatever effort it takes to place a meal in front of them and a roof over their heads.

Service flows directly out of an understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice.

The Christian who serves does not serve because they “should” or even because other people “need their help,” both of these are merely facets of the larger reason. The Christian who serves does so because it is hardwired into his or her identity. To serve is to live out an understanding of the Christian faith. To serve is to say, “I believe as Christ does, that all people are immeasurably valuable.”

This verse in James even goes a step further. We are told what service is as well as what it ought to look like. The verse specifies the recipients of the service. We are called to bring relief to orphans and widows in their time of need. Obviously, it’s not because widows and orphans are worth the most. It’s because these are the two most helpless and defenseless types of people.

There is a child with his entire life unlived and no parents there to walk with them through life. Where will he get their food and clothes? Who will hug him when they have bad days? What life awaits him when the government-provided care runs out?

There is a woman who has families to care for, and the man who promised to hold her hand through thick and thin was taken from her. How is she going to fix the leaky roof? Where will she get the money for next month’s groceries? To whom does she turn when “buy larger binder for extended to-do list” doesn’t fit on the to-do list?

What can I do to help these people?

Both Hands is an attempt to answer these questions.