Integrated

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead. - James 2:26

While we’ve tended to pit parts of ourselves against each other, like mind vs. body. James, like Jesus, expects us to be integrated - for all parts our selves, our personhood, our emotions/body/mind/soul to be woven together in true flourishing - and if one part is unwell, the whole self is unwell - if one piece has died, the whole self has died.

Jesus paints a picture of what wholistic discipleship looks like when he said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” - Luke 10:27

Rev. Darryl Ford point out that this kind of integration is essential for reconciliation to happen across race in America. Take a few moments with these insights and ask how the Spirit is leading you to pray today.

If White Christians truly felt the pain of black Americans, when times of cruelty, injustice and violence occur, immediate and contrived forgiveness rituals would never suffice....  Black Christians biblically forgive by viewing our legitimate hurts, frustrations, and anger through a redemptive lens that proclaims, “I will renounce my right to get revenge for all the ways that this present kingdom has broken my heart. I will also believe Jesus’ words that the kingdom of God is indeed at hand. This means that I will pray with my heart and work tirelessly with my hands and feet to see signposts of how the perfectly restored coming kingdom invades the broken, exploitative, and racist kingdom of this world.” (Darryl Ford, Forgiveness is Not Passivity, Repentance Project, 2017)