James, the half brother of Jesus knew a thing or two about trials and temptations. After all, can you imagine growing up in a household with Jesus as a sibling?! Talk about sibling rivalry! Growing up with a perfect older brother to compare yourself to would have been a breeding ground for all types of resentments and jealousies, especially given the Jewish tradition of the significance place on the first born son’s inheritance. And yet, here James is, a professing follower of Christ, giving everything he’s got to help the tenuous early church. In the very first passage of James, Chapter 1, James begins by talking about trials and the testing of our faith:
James 1
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
How’s that for a sermon opener? The implication here is that trials may tempt us to turn away from our faith in God, like pouting toddlers who don’t get our way, essentially saying “If you don’t make my life easy, God, I won’t believe in you!”
Yet James is telling his newly believing, immature audience to rejoice in trials admonishing that if you do not waiver in your faith and continue trusting and believing in God, even in the midst of trials, you will have increasing faith. Not buying it? Stick with me…
Now, I too would much rather read something to the effect of, “All you have to do is have faith, and nothing bad will ever happen to you again, and you will live happily ever after as your faith continues to multiply unchecked!” Unfortunately, that is not what James says. Furthermore, James doesn’t state, “…if you meet trials,” he states, “…when.” And unfortunately he doesn’t say trial singular, he states “trials” plural. Welcome to planet earth, my friend, the struggle is real.
So how is it that James is convincing the new church to find joy in trials? When he talks of trials, we’re not talking about a ruined manicure, a wardrobe malfunction, a flat tire, or even a remodeling nightmare. No, he is talking about financial ruin, persecution, temptation to turn from the faith, and death. This was a difficult time to be a follower of Jesus.
The joy James speaks of results from having faith that, as difficult as the trials may be, continued faith would result in steadfastness, or depending on the translation your read: patience, endurance, perseverance. If I were a newly converted Christian living in those perilous times, and James told me to be joyous and celebrate my trials, I admit my inherent immaturity would have caused me to look at him as if he had two heads- perhaps even pop an eye roll or two. Seriously? My life and that of my family’s is in jeopardy here- I have been ostracized by Jewish society and you want me to rejoice?! But James goes on to say that continued faith in the midst of trails produces- choose your word- steadfastness/patience/endurance/perseverance. Why is this necessary? Because when we persevere in faith we will see God’s work manifest. We will see His provision, His mercy, and in some cases His miraculous intervention. We will experience the strength He gives us to overcome what doesn’t seem humanly possible. We will see His grace working in our lives and those of fellow believers who suffer alongside us. Our faith spurring their faith, their faith reinforcing our faith, our steadfast faith inspiring curiosity in others regarding these Christian oddities who seem to maintain joy irregardless of circumstances because we know planet earth isn’t the end goal.
Furthermore, we can be grateful for trials because if it weren’t for difficulties, the universal church body would be much smaller and weaker. Without trials we humans tend to think “God who? I’ve got this- I don’t need God.” Yet it is in times of trial that we are most likely to turn to and rely on God. I’m pretty sure God knows about this little idiosyncrasy of ours and isn’t afraid to use that knowledge for our benefit and to grow His kingdom, despite our tantrums. If God were a statistician, I’m pretty sure his recruiting stats would show a much higher return on Christian converts recruited through trials and tribulations; and if stats were kept on the impact of difficult circumstances on the advancement of spiritual maturity, lets just assume the return on investment would be significant.
James had a big picture perspective. Now you could argue that he had an unfair advantage as a 1/2 brother to Jesus Christ, but nonetheless he isn’t using the status that relation undoubtedly gave him among new believers to self aggrandize himself, rather his goal is to strengthen the church as a body. James is encouraging the new church body to persevere in faith, both individually, and wholly together by watching God working through difficult circumstances to supernaturally benefit the newly established yet fragile church body.
James ties up this paragraph by stating, “Let steadfastness [endurance/patience/perseverance] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Much to our dismay, this does not seem to be referring to earthly riches. He is rather referring to something of much greater value- our spiritual maturity, or how close we are to reflecting the qualities of our Savior. As we unwaiveringly persevere in our faith, relying on God through all circumstances, we are able to grow in our faith, suppressing our selfish human default mode and reprogramming it with the the qualities that Christ demonstrated for us, which are ours for the taking through the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Think of it like a spiritual game of Pokemon- gotta get ’em all!
Lest you feel I’m being flippant, I had the misfortune of needing to apply the wisdom of this first paragraph of the Book of James recently. I learned that a childhood friend of my daughter passed away unexpectedly. It was sudden and tragic, and a very dear family was cut to the core by grief and disbelief. My initial reaction was selfish and predictably human- “Why, God?” Yet who are we to question our Creator, who is responsible for every good gift and who is responsible for every life I have ever had the privilege of loving? I don’t presume to understand how the push and pull of good and evil work themselves out in the spiritual and natural realms, but God gently reminded me through Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways.” The most painful anguish we can experience is the death of a loved one, yet none of us have a “get out of death free” card for planet earth. God knows there are many things we won’t understand, but he asks us to have faith and trust Him. Trust that what he promises for those who believe in His Son, Jesus is the real deal. At some point we will all leave our earthly bodies, and if we put our trust in the saving grace of Jesus, turn from our sins and live for Him, we can rejoice that we won’t be on planet earth forever. We deeply grieve our friend’s passing, yet rejoice with thankfulness that she had a relationship with Jesus and was a member of God’s adopted family, guaranteeing her a welcome into eternity with our loving Father.
Trials will persist, but through faith and reliance on God, we will overcome. As we persevere and our faith grows, the faith of those around us grows, creating a larger and larger reflection of Christ to draw others near.
If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably experienced a trial or two in your life. How was it used by God to reinforce and grow your faith or that of those around you?
A Peace of Humble Pie 