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Love
Teaching Text: James 1: 1-12
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
The Crown of Life: Meditations on the Book of James
Joy in Trials
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
If you could change one thing about your instantly, what would you change?
What defines your well-being?
What does our world say about what well-being looks like?
There has to be more than just the circumstances you are currently in to determine your well-being.
One of the other most powerful arguments for the resurrection of Jesus, 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul makes note of this sibling phenomenon…
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
– 1 Corinthians 15: 3-8
There is no gospel without the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus could not have been just a good moral teacher with some historical influence because his ideas were compelling.
He claimed to be God, to be Israel’s Messiah, and the world’s Redeemer.
If He wasn’t those things, then He was either crazy and delusional, or He knew He was lying, or He was those things.
He is life and He gives life.
And this brings us to the heart of the book of James.
JAMES is New Testament wisdom literature. Like what you might find in Proverbs or Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Whatever your view of the world or your belief system or your philosophy, you need some answers to the questions …
Why is life so challenging? AND
How do we deal with its difficulty and pain?
Is there is a way to live through pain other than just being blown and tossed by it and then despair?
Our world is good at some things. It’s not very good at all in our currently culture for preparing people to go through hardships and pain
James gets right into it. And he shows us that patience doesn’t give all its treasure away on the first day, but that if we can learn to endure in faith
We might
shatter the illusion of sufficiency
deepen our understanding and awareness of God
expands our compassion
we might even know and understand ourselves more
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
– James 1: 2-4
James seems to know that suffering exposes reality and because of that can deepen our understanding of and ability to live in the real world.
Our world had a brokenness and violence in it that runs through to the core. The more you live well doesn’t mean you will live easily with a smooth journey.
At the heart of our faith is a perfect Person suffering deeply, all the way to death for crimes He didn’t commit.
A man dying for his enemies.
James is saying that we need to pay attention to our perspective when life gets hard.
But along the way you may have to realize all the other things you are practically relying in for your well-being,
You may need to see that despite what you say about God you have many other functional Saviors.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
– James 1: 5-8
“Doubt” is translated more accurately as divided loyalty.
Ask for wisdom
God doesn’t just give wisdom to the best people who have earned it.
They ask for help
“Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
– James 1: 9-12
Sometimes suffering exposes things for how they reality are.
Connects us to reality
Suffering shows the character of God beyond my mood and circumstances.
Capacity for endurance
An important word about the why and the where of suffering
Be very gentle and humble with the WHY
Be courageous with the WHERE
The Crown of Life
Suffering and hanging on to God and knowing God is hanging on to you can prepare you to LIVE
And the reward is you get LIFE.
This is a Friendship
We are to run to Christ. Who has suffered. And we are not alone.
We trust in His resurrection!!!
“From the standpoint of Heaven, the most miserable life on earth will just look like one night in a bad hotel”
– Theresa of Avila
“My question – that which at the age of fifty brought me to the verge of suicide – was the simplest of questions, lying in the soul of every man…a question, without an answer to which, one cannot live. It was: “What will come of what I am doing today or tomorrow? What will come of my whole life? Why should I live, why wish for anything, or do anything?” It can also be expressed thus: Is there any meaning in my life that the inevitable death awaiting me does not destroy.”
– Leo Tolstoy
Shatter the illusion of sufficiency
Deepen our understanding and awareness of God
Expand our compassion
We might even know and understand ourselves more
Where do you go to ask for help?
Which circumstances make you question God?
Parents:
What is your first instinct when you see suffering in the lives of your children?
What do your responses teach your kids?
Do your children see some of your suffering?
How do you model suffering and faith response to your children?
