Our culture loves its freedom. Usually that means that if you stay out of my business, I promise to stay out of yours. This might be an acceptable philosophy if everything is going well. However, it is dangerous when things aren’t so good. We can be thankful that God does not stay out of our business but goes after us.

In today’s passage, James is expressing a similar theme. He is concerned about the person who walks away or wanders from the truth. If a woman would search for a coin until she finds it, how much more should we search for a fellow brother or sister in Christ who has wandered away from the truth?

James is expressing a caring and seeking love, the kind Jesus speaks of through parables in Luke 15. One parable of the lost coin, one of the lost son, but the first in this chapter is the parable of the lost sheep. Although each parable is different, they teach the same truth. God cares about and seeks the lost. The parables imply that at one time, each item was in the owner’s possession but somehow it was dropped, misplaced or walked away. The owner’s urgency was to find that which was lost. The owner’s joy came when the item was found.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we should care about the spiritual welfare of our brothers and sisters in Christ. If one of them has wandered, we should do what we can to help return them to the truth. Many people wander because they have been hurt by others and don’t want to be hurt again. Trust has been lost. Maybe they need one person—you—to express genuine care and concern. Your efforts may “save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (v. 20).

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