True Religion 真正的虔诚

[Dexu Xia]

Religion that God our Father accepts . . . is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress. James 1:27

The summer after my sophomore year of college, a classmate died unexpectedly. I’d seen him just a few days prior and he looked fine. My classmates and I were young and in what we thought was the prime of our lives, having just become sisters and brothers after pledging our respective sorority and fraternity.

But what I remember most about my classmate’s death was witnessing my fraternity friends live out what the apostle James calls “genuine religion” (James 1:27 nlt). The men in the fraternity became like brothers to the sister of the deceased. They attended her wedding and traveled to her baby shower years after her brother’s death. One even gifted her a cell phone to contact him whenever she needed to call.

True religion, according to James, is “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (v. 27). While my friend’s sister wasn’t an orphan in the literal sense, she no longer had her brother. Her new “brothers” filled in the gap.

And that’s what all of us who want to practice true and pure life in Jesus can do—“do what [Scripture] says” (v. 22), including caring for those in need (2:14–17). Our faith in Him prompts us to look after the vulnerable as we keep ourselves from the negative influences of the world as He helps us. After all, it’s the true religion God accepts.

By:  Katara Patton

How have you seen true religion played out? How can you display genuine faith to others?

Heavenly Father, open my eyes to see where I can help the most vulnerable as You lead me.

在上帝我们的父面前，那清洁没有玷污的虔诚，就是看顾在患难中的孤儿寡妇。—雅各书1章27节

在我大二那年的暑假，我的一位同学突然离开人世。在他过世的几天前我见过他，而他看起来还很好。那时，我和同学们都很年轻，正处在我们认为的人生黄金阶段，大家不久前才加入各自的姐妹会和兄弟会，结盟成为姐妹和兄弟。

然而，关于我同学去世这件事情，让我印象最深刻的是亲眼目睹兄弟会的这些弟兄们，活出了雅各所说的“纯洁真挚的虔诚”（雅各书1章27节，新普及译本）。这位同学虽然过世了，但他的妹妹就成了这些弟兄们的妹妹。多年后，这些弟兄们还去参加他妹妹的婚礼，后来还出席了她迎接宝宝诞生的产前派对。有人甚至送给她一部手机，以便在她有需要时，能够打电话联系。

雅各说，纯洁真挚的虔诚是“看顾在患难中的孤儿寡妇”（27节）。虽然我同学的妹妹并不是个孤儿，但她确实失去了自己的哥哥，而这群“弟兄们”弥补了这个缺憾。

若有人想要在耶稣里活出纯洁真挚的生命，就只需要做一件事，那就是“行道”（22节），包括照顾那些需要帮助的人（2章14-17节）。我们因为耶稣的扶持，得以远离世界的负面影响，让我们因着对耶稣的信心去关怀弱势群体。这正是上帝所悦纳的纯洁真挚的虔诚。

作者：  潘恺兰

你曾看到谁体现出真正的虔诚？
你如何活出真实的信心？

天父，请打开我的眼睛，引领我去关怀那些最需要帮助的人