Blog: God in the Stress and the Mess
Hi Everyone—some thoughts on James 1:
Count it all joy- We spoke last Sunday about the fact that there are two ways of looking at our lives in this world- through godly wisdom, or through worldly “wisdom”. Both seem perfectly logical and true from their own perspective, but only one accords with Ultimate Reality, and produces joy and life. The other seems right for a time but gradually destroys our lives, and if we don’t abandon it, in the end will cause our permanent estrangement from the One who is Life.
One of the reasons I started our journey through James in chapter 3.15-18, is that I believe this theme underlies almost everything in this powerful little book. It certainly lies underneath James’ opening statements about trials.
“Count it all joy” is a challenge to take a certain perspective on the trials of life. It is not a command to feel joyful, but to look at the difficulties we face in living for God in this world as a process which both along the way, and in the end, will produce joy. Godly wisdom sees life through this lense.
Trials in all their varying forms- This is the sense of the Greek according to one commentator. Trials is a word in the Greek that is used (even in this passage) in both the sense of temptation and in the sense of suffering. When you think about it, temptation to sin, and the experience of suffering, particularly when it is over a period of time, are closely related. One can lead to the other. James doesn’t say that God causes these, but that He uses them. There are many forms of trial in this broken and twisted world in which we live.
Steadfastness/Endurance- Which word is used depends on the translation- both in my view are good. The implication is that just hanging on, hanging in, and moving through will bring the good fruit that we desire. We don’t have to try to bear the fruit, only to be obedient and faithful under pressure.
“Full effect”- the word in the Greek that is translated in the ESV as full effect, is in the King James, I think, “perfect work”, is a form of “telos”. What makes this so intriguing is that telos has the implication of the destiny or created purpose of something. In other words, because we live in a purposeful creation, each thing in it has an ideal end for its existence and function. So, for example, the end of a chair is to comfortably support a person while that person does something else. So the implication would seem to be that steadfastness in the middle of suffering until we get through to the other side is necessary for God to fully shape us into what He intended all along that we would become, i.e. it’s not just something extraneous that makes no sense, but an integral part of His ongoing creation of sons and daughters who are whole and fulfilled as He has always intended for them. That’s why James calls it joy I think.
So here’s an interesting thought. We always live in a paradox, or a creative tension. On the one hand God is our Deliverer, and we do and should pray for deliverance from all kinds of trials. He is our Help, and His Kingdom freedom from painful stuff is already something we can experience. Nonetheless, we still need to endure trials, and that’s part of His purpose also. How do we live this out? What’s it like?
So here are some things I’d like to discuss. What does all this mean? How does it come together for you? What illustrations are there of these truths- either in your own life, or in movies, videos, books, sermons, etc.? How do we live out the paradox I mentioned, as well as the “counting it joy” part? What concerns you or doesn’t make sense about this? What questions does it raise for you? If you were creating a sermon about this passage, what would you emphasize?
Yours for Growth in Him,
Pastor Dave