The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. (James 5:4)
Expanded Passage: James 5:4
“I’m never drinking the water from that well again!” My great-aunt had lived on a farm for decades and drank well water most of her life, but a new revelation threatened to change her viewpoint. My brother had gotten a new microscope. On our family’s visit to the farm, he had taken a sample of the well water and magnified it to show off his new scientific toy. It clearly showed all manner of living and dead things that had previously been invisible. But by dinner time the shock had worn off, and she was back to drinking the water. Her eyes had been temporarily opened to another world, but it made no difference to her actions.
God provides opportunities for us to glimpse into someone’s messy life and we may even sympathize at how unfortunate they are, but then we choose to mentally discard them. What we don’t realize is that God sees them as created in his image.
In this verse, the unpaid workers’ cries had “reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.” God had heard them and would see that they got justice. The truth of the matter is that we serve a just God who will heroically defend those who are ignored or marginalized. We may label some people as unimportant, but when they cry out to him, we may find ourselves opposing God.
Value people by seeing them as bearers of God’s image.
Calvin Wylie is a retired federal employee. He is the son of a Wesleyan pastor and evangelist. Calvin and his wife, Tammy, live in Clemson, South Carolina.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
