James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
(James 1:1, ESV)

Notice James’ self-description: “A servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  That is his self-description.

Now that is not how I would do it.  If I was James, I would open it this way: “James, a brother of Jesus.”  Let me just remind you of how close I am to Him.  Recall my intimate connection to Him – we are brothers, you know. 

Wouldn’t you be tempted to play the brother card? 

That is how our world operates.  We try to impress each other with our connections – I know so and so, look at me!

James, a servant of God – just a servant.  And of the Lord Jesus Christ – not my brother but my Lord!  He is the master; I am just a servant.  He is the Christ, the promised King; I am just his servant.  I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Is that your self-description?   Is that how you see yourself?  Would you introduce yourself that way?  Hi, I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As His servant then, let’s humbly serve him.  It’s not about you or me; it’s all about Him.  It’s not about what we want, but about what He wants.  It’s not about our amazing ideas, but about His truly wise plans. 

So let’s join James and humbly serve the Lord.  Serve Him in our homes.  Serve Him in our church.  Serve Him in our community.  Serve Him with our time and money.  Serve Him with our words and actions.  Serve Him even in our suffering.  Serve Him with whatever strength God gives us. 

We are servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So let’s humbly serve Him with all of our lives.