This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
How can someone like the Apostle Paul "rejoice" in the suffering he endured? Not because he enjoyed it, far from it, simply because he understood the purpose to which God utilized his dedication in the face of opposition. The "mystery" of God, that had been foretold by the prophets, had at last been revealed during Paul's lifetime, namely the advent of the Messiah and his wondrous victory over sin and death through self-sacrifice. The "glorious riches" of God's will were greater than that, however, for God intended all along that the message of hope that resulted from the work of Jesus be sent forth into the world, to call all nations to repent and create a new people from among them of those who would become disciples of Jesus.
Consider for a moment the import of these words: "the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ in his followers, is the hope of glory! The dwelling of Christ within his people (through the Holy Spirit) here on earth is a foretaste of the glory of heaven to come. How do we know, for sure, that God's promises of life beyond death with him are true? We experience Christ in us now, molding and shaping us into maturity.
Where there are jealousies and quarrels within a church, there you will find the immaturity of stunted growth. Paul warned the church at Corinth that they had failed to mature as they ought to have done, a diagnosis he was confident of because he had heard reports of the fights among them, and something they needed to grow beyond. Every Christian must begin with the basics, whether they are young or old when they first believe, but if we are to mature into useful servants of the kingdom of God, we must adopt the humble attitude of a servant that Jesus modeled by putting away our pride and ambition. In the end, we as a Church must be of one purpose, united in our effort to share the Gospel and make disciples.
The letter of James, written by the half-brother of Jesus by that name, contains a variety of advice/commands regarding practical morality for the disciples of Jesus. It was written to Jewish Christians in the first century, but remains easily applicable to the Church today because of its focus on how Christians should live. The first moral lesson from James involves perseverance. He starts the ball rolling by telling us that we should consider our various trials and tribulations in life to be "pure joy", a tough pill to swallow until you read his rationale, because of their ability to help us cultivate the character quality of perseverance. Once we have been tested by life, either by the wickedness down to us by other people, or simply by difficult life circumstances, we will realize that our faith is capable, thanks be to God, of withstanding such things. We can stand in the midst of the storm and hold on to our faith as we continue to work toward reaching maturity as disciples. Along with the need to develop perseverance, James reminds us that God is willing to give wisdom to those who ask it of him as long as they don't doubt. Biblical wisdom is the ability to know the righteous path and the willingness to choose it, something we will certainly have need of in our quest to persevere despite the difficulties of life. It isn't doubt in ourselves that James warns will derail us, nor doubt in the seemingly insurmountable obstacles we may face, but doubt in the goodness, holiness, or love of God. As long as we maintain our trust that God is good, that his way is holy, and that his love for us is forever, we will be able to receive from God the wisdom that we need to continue to live righteously in this world, no matter what circumstances we face, even when they are "trials of many kinds."
