James: Where Faith and Life Meet
Trials and Perfection
2/5/12
Have you ever faced a difficult trial in your life where you felt like giving up? Are you there right now? Maybe you have a situation at work where you were being plotted against for doing the right thing. Possibly you are a student in school where you continually are made fun of for standing up for your truth and convictions. Maybe you are a parent facing a difficult decision you need to make concerning your family and/or children. We all face trials at one point or another in our lives. Oftentimes our first response when faced with any kind of conflict, turmoil or tribulation is to turn and run or just plain give up. Typically we don’t like to face our trials head on.
Greg Asimakoupoulos tells of a commuter flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston. The pilot, Henry Dempsey, heard an unusual noise near the rear of the small aircraft. He turned the controls over to his co-pilot and went back to investigate.
As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door. He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise. The rear door had not been properly latched prior to takeoff, and it flew open. He was instantly partially sucked out of the jet.
The co-pilot, seeing the red light that indicated an open door, radioed the nearest airport, requesting permission to make an emergency landing. He reported that the pilot had fallen out of the plane, and he requested a helicopter search of that area of the ocean.
After the plane landed, they found Henry Dempsey—holding onto the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. Somehow he had caught the ladder, held on for ten minutes as the plane flew 200 mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet, and then, at landing, kept his head from hitting the runway. It took airport personnel several minutes to pry Dempsey’s fingers from the ladder.
“Things in life may feel turbulent,” said Asimakoupoulos, “and you may not feel like holding on. But have you considered the alternative?”[1]
Holding on in the hard times or persevering is the theme for today’s message. The passage we will look at in James deals specifically with our attitudes and actions when faced with hardship and trials. Many consider this passage a jagged little pill which is painful to swallow, while others find it completely impossible to hold onto in their lives.
The Joy in Trials
Last week I spent a good deal of time giving an introduction to the Epistle of James. If you were not here for the message then I would encourage you to get it online at our Church website. One thing I did note about this Epistle is that it is a practical letter and is one that helps merge our faith and everyday living together.
Immediately James wastes no time getting to the purpose of this letter. He doesn’t mess around with greetings or salutations instead he tackles the issue right up front. Apparently the reason for this letter was the people he was writing to were facing various kinds of trials in their lives. We can only speculate what trials these Christians were facing but can make safe assumptions that it was probably related to their poverty (James takes up the argument against the rich a little later in the chapter) and it was religious persecution as well and most likely the two were interrelated.
I think we can all accept the fact that no matter where we are in life we will face persecution, trials and suffering. Notice James does not write, “If you face trials…” but writes “When you face trials…” What I think most of us have a problem with is the attitude James tells us to have. He says to “consider it pure joy” when we come face to face with various trials. Was this guy right in the head? I’m not sure about you but usually joy is not on my top ten list of responses to trials and trouble. I think it is safe to say that James isn’t telling us that we should be giddy with delight over persecution but a joy that is in anticipation of God’s future glory in the situation. James is giving the readers (and us) a lesson or reminder about the sovereignty of God. In these trying times we may be surprised or thrown for a loop but God is not phased in the least. Our responses to trials often speak volumes about our perspective of God. When we allow trials to overrule our lives instead of seeing them as moments where God is in control we have just defined our God as a God who can’t… Nowhere does James suggest having joy in trials is easy. He just states it is doable. In this opening passage we are reminded that God does allow difficulties in our lives and as believers they have a purpose. What that purpose is can only be revealed if we respond to them in a proper way.
Unfortunately many who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior have a misconception about their spiritual walk with Jesus. So many individuals have a false idea that it is wrong to experience hardships as a believer. What is more saddening is that many are quick to abandon their faith when faced with difficulty instead of persevering. The path of a believer will be faced with times of difficulty and trials (and joy inexplicable) but James informs the believer that when we face trials (the ESV states “the testing of your faith”) we are in a process of being refined in our faith. The testing of faith produces steadfastness which means endurance or patience.
I like Douglas Moo’s analogy, “Like a muscle that becomes strong when it faces resistance, so Christians learn to remain faithful to God over this long haul only when they face difficulty.”[2] In a sense when we face trials in the appropriate way we are building our spiritual muscles. So often when we are in the midst of trials we pray that God would take us out of the situation but God is the one who has allowed us to be in this situation in the first place. In reality instead of praying for deliverance from the trial we should be praying for God strengthen our faith and become refined so we may come out the situation stronger than when we entered it.
As believers when faced with trials the immediate result should always be perseverance or steadfastness. When the trial comes before us we must prepare to persevere because God has a purpose and it’s all under His control. However perseverance is not the end goal. The end goal is perfection and completeness. This may confuse some because you may say nothing and nobody is perfect except God, so how can we be perfect if perfection is impossible? The word used for perfect is telios which means, upright, sound, blameless or mature in character and faith. This is the ultimate goal of the believer in times of trials and trouble. Note that James is not saying that we attain this perfection in the earthly realm. Moral integrity, and a faith that is sound is what we get from persevering. Have you ever met a man or woman who has a maturity of faith about them? They are upright in their character, their faith is nearly unshakeable and their love for God is immeasurable? How do you think they got there? Answer: by practicing James 1:2-4. James is suggestion here that the testing, trials and persecution the readers face are intended to produce, in accordance to absolute trust, faith and endurance in God, maturity and uprightness in our character that is complete in all respects. This type of maturity is only developed when we face trials as James suggests. Does this whole reasoning seem a bit odd or backward? Well maybe to some, but it works.
Conclusion
At this time I would like to bring the text for today into our lives. Are you facing a trial or trials in your life where you are uncertain as to why you are going through it? I would encourage you to really take note and meditate on these verses this week. I know the difficulty involved when going through trials but I also know that God is on task and aware of what is going on. Somewhat recently I experienced something that was very difficult for me to face, borderline devastating and my first reaction was to turn and run. However as I faced this trial in my life I found that as a result of this trial I was praying more, reading the Word of God more, searching the Scriptures for answers and challenges and emerging from the trial victorious, complete and I believe even more mature. Was it a fun process? Absolutely not. Am I glad I went through it? Yes, I am and I am more complete in Christ as a result.
My friends, wherever you are; at work, school, home, the community, or just out there consider it pure joy when faced with various trials because the end result will be worth it. Jesus is our greatest example and he endured horrific trials. Imagine if He would have caved halfway through his persecution, it would have been devastating. The beautiful thing is He endured and as a result He has given us the opportunity to be complete and perfect and lacking nothing because he finished the task.
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