Yesterday, my oldest son Scott said something that I thought was interesting.  He said, "Wouldn't it have been hard to have your older brother always being perfect.  Can your imagine what James felt like having a brother that was always good.  Never got into trouble.  Was always obedient to his Mom and Dad.  Never missed church.  Gladly shared everything he had."  Then my son said, "That would have been really, really hard to live with."

Sometimes we read the Bible and we don't think about the humanity of the people we read about.  We know that James didn't think that Jesus was the Messiah.  He didn't think Jesus was anything but his older brother until the resurrection.   Then it all came into focus.  Jesus was God.  Jesus had lived a perfect life in order to die for us.  When Jesus rose from the dead, James was forever a changed man.

James started the letter he wrote by saying, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,…"  James had given his life to God and recognized the Lordship of his own brother.  He realized that everything his mother Mary had told him about his older brother had been true.  After the resurrection, James understood the prophecies of the Old Testament had been fulfilled.

Mary and Joseph.   Jesus,  James and their sisters and brothers.  Wouldn't that have been an interesting family.  I had never even thought about that.

There is so much in the Bible that I have never thought about.  That's why reading it is so interesting.  You always are learning something new.  It is alive.