James 3

We are people of mercy and love. We are living out a message, but more than that we are living out something real that is the basis of the message we preach. The Word that we proclaim is the mercy and love of God to us. Christ is the reality that makes that message so powerful. Through Him, and through His good news, mercy has triumphed over judgment. Because of Him we need to be merciful. He is the power of love in us.

This is all unquestionably right, but as soon as we start talking, too often we find something else coming out of our mouths that is not consistent with the grace of our Lord. And we cannot seem to tame our tongues. There are so many occasions where it would be better to say nothing at all rather than to say what we say.

Some are called to be teachers, and they cannot avoid speaking, but teachers will be judged with more strictness. Everyone stumbles in one way or another, but it is very easy for a teacher or preacher of the Word to stumble with his mouth. To be that kind of ambassador for Christ is not for everyone, but to live a quiet and faithful life of love should be the goal of every Christian.

This is not an easy thing to attain, but God can help us. The reason we have such trouble with speaking is that we have an even deeper problem with thinking and desiring. If we want to stop our tongues from starting fires, we need to ask God to send the living water of heaven more and more into our hearts and minds. This is the only way to tame the tongue, and it will only happen by the grace of God, who makes all things new.

We need our speech to be a consistent source of blessing, and not a polluted stream that was clean when it went forth from the mountain of God, but picked up too many impurities on its way to eager self-expression. Imagine what our speech will be like in heaven when every motion of our heart is in tune with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is our goal today, to have that kind of heavenly heart now, blessing God, and showing forth His love and mercy to people like us who need his grace every moment of every day.

We say that we believe that heaven exists, and it does. It is the place where God dwells most supremely. We contend that life in heaven is without sin, and that the angels and men there are even now in a Paradise of perfect love. This is absolutely right. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Even before the resurrection, while the Lord's body was still in the grave, He went to that Paradise of just men made perfect where people have real self-control. We trust that when Jesus returns, that we will live the perfect life of heaven on a renewed and reunited heaven and earth. This is our hope and it is secure in the work of Christ for us. But do we believe that we can have the wisdom and grace that comes from above today in this world of trouble? This is what God wants for us now. We can ask for and receive this heavenly blessing today.

The wisdom that comes from above is the mind of Christ. To have heavenly wisdom is to have true Christ-likeness and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you want a quiet life, where your speech would more fully reflect the glory of the ascended Jesus who died for your sins, you must be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In this heart/mind/soul mysterious center of true humanity, you cannot nurture the bitter jealousy and selfish ambition of demonic life, and expect that you will still speak the truth seasonably with the mercy and love of heaven. From an unclean root we can only expect fruit of disorder, sin, guilt, shame, and regret.

But there is another way of life open to us today by the love of God expressed so beautifully to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord. We do not have to wait until the moment of our death to experience more of heaven. We have the mind of Christ now, and we can ask God for more grace so that we will live according to the wisdom that comes from above.

That wisdom is first pure. Particularly for those who would speak as representatives of Christ in the teaching ministry of the church, before we think much about how we can keep the peace of Christ in His body, we must consider our need for the purity of Christ in His church. What is the true answer that we are seeking? How will mercy triumph over judgment today? How will righteousness be more fruitfully lived out in this congregation as we put off the habits of an unclean old mind, and put on the life of purity. Don't give up on this too quickly. This is where heavenly living fights the first battle of the good fight. God needs to show us the way of purity.

Then we can move on to the beauty of peace. How can that truth of purity that we have come to love be expressed in a way that will best maintain the peace of heaven in the church? This wisdom of gracious speech will have an ear that is gentle, hearing the best, and a mind that is open to reason, looking for the opportunity to see the mercy of God known, loved, and experienced by all.

People who visit a church where heavenly wisdom reigns should be able to sense heart of Christ. It should feel different than the place where the unloving and unspiritual divisions of worldliness lead the flock of God in the wrong direction, despising the poor and weak and exalting the well-connected and beautiful. But we can walk in the wisdom of heaven now. The Lord of glory has led the way for us in His suffering love. He visits us with His Spirit of mercy. He will bring forth a harvest of righteousness, sown in peace by those who love the peace of God, and who seek peace for themselves and others according to the wisdom that comes from above.