It is only a matter of moments to be born, but it takes many years to grow up into the person you were meant to be. That is true whether we are speaking of the physical world or the spiritual one. And in all that messy process we can sometimes lose sight of the end goal– no wonder the letter-writers in the first century took the time and the ink to remind us over and over of where we are headed, and why. James is barely into his first paragraph when he says “…when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:3-4) We tend to think that our end goal is Heaven, and skip right over that important truth that it is our maturity in the faith that God is interested in. Heaven is merely the final destination.

One of my favorite stories when I was little was the one about the Velveteen Rabbit. It wasn’t a fluffy just-for-fun kind of book, but one of those that asks hauntingly big questions from a child’s perspective. Decades later I find that we grownups are still rephrasing the rabbit’s “What does it mean to be real?”….”Who am I?….Do I matter as a person in this world?”….”What makes a life that is worth something?” 

The leather horse in the storybook nursery had surprisingly profound insight into the rabbit’s question. He told his young friend that becoming Real was a process of being loved that lasted all your life– and often it hurts quite a bit, but you don’t even mind, because getting hurt is part of being Real. All these years later, I find that Big-Brother James reveals a similar perspective in his letter to the early Christ-followers. He says that who we are and why we matter are all wrapped up in our relationship with Christ. We get to prove that our faith is real by putting it to work in a million down-to-earth everyday ways: at home with our families, at work, on the street where we live, in the gathering together of the saints. In the process, we are growing up into Christ and learning to reflect the glory of the One Who made us. And yeah, all that does hurt quite a bit at times, because it is lived out in the real world, in community with all-too-real people.

James says we are supposed to love them just because Jesus loves them too. But we may as well be honest… loving people is hard sometimes. In all the ways they bump up against us, and see things differently, and act in their own interests, we can end up feeling rubbed raw and raggedy. That’s not all bad. In the words of the leather horse, “Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you.” Gradually, as we endure, we are becoming more like Jesus in love and understanding and patience. James says you can recognize that transformation in a person’s life: “… the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds.” (James 3:17) Maturity doesn’t come all at once– it is a bumpy, sometimes messy process– and the only way we can hang in there is by fixing our eyes on the sharp vivid reality of Resurrection Life ahead. James writes his encouragement to us: “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 1:12)

No question about it, it can be a struggle to extend the gift of Grace to people who don’t deserve it. Somehow it is easier to accept grace myself than it is to hand it out over and over again. I can get weary of listening long, and being slow to anger, and controlling my tongue, and forgiving offenses… but James says this is what it means to really live in the Kingdom of God. Anything else is just pretending. And in that rugged everyday process of shedding our old skins and learning to live according to God’s wisdom together, we are becoming Real. We are finding out who we were meant to be, and discovering the reasons we were placed here and now, and James promises a good result in the end: “those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:18) Specifically, Jesus says that harvest of righteousness will be a joyful Home in the depths of His love. “When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy.” (John 15:10-11)

Turns out that we and the stuffed velveteen rabbit have quite a bit in common. And it is the fortunate individual who discovers the blessing of being Real and Loved, being completely known and accepted for how we are made.  “‘It doesn’t happen all at once,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.’”

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“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:22-25)

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“We are not for long, and we are what we long for; we are but dust, and we are but our hearts; we are a vapor, and we become what we come to love. Love Him most and we who are a vapor become a fragrance of praise that will last for all of forever.” (Ann VosKamp)

It sounds so simple that we might be tempted to brush past these few sentences, on our way to more pithy and profound instructions. “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13) Why would James bother telling us to do something that would come naturally anyway– don’t we usually pray when we are in trouble and sing God’s praises when we are happy? Yeah sure, except that very often we don’t actually do those things at all, and I have to join Big-Brother James in wondering why.

Throughout his letter to all us Christ-followers, James has been underlining the fact that real faith shows itself through actions. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14) It is no use to walk through your days saying you believe God’s Word, if everything that your life produces says otherwise. I can protest up and down and until every last cow comes home that I am a Christ-follower, but unless I am actually trusting His will, choosing to obey Him, allowing the Spirit to transform my nature to His likeness more and more, I’m only an imitation. Along the lines of a store mannequin dressed up in a lovely outfit, and unarguably devoid of life.

But of course James uses word pictures that are more sensible to his first-century listeners when he points out that what flows from a man reveals what he actually believes in his heart. “My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” (James 3:12) So for James, those simple instructions to pray or praise are making some important observations about the heart: namely, that in all the varying circumstances of life, the person who is trusting God as the Maker and Ruler will turn to Him in response as naturally as a fig tree bears figs. And like fig trees, this is a growth process, something that we are learning to do with every new situation we face. Something we must cultivate carefully, and watch out for the roots of distrust and self-will that get in the way of prayer and praise. No matter how far along you are, you have to keep returning to this simple everyday caretaking of the heart.

“Whenever you face trials of every kind…” you should know Who to ask for wisdom and strength, and you can even “consider it pure joy because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3) When life is beautiful you should understand that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) See, it’s not about how upstanding you look to the casual observer, but about Who has captured your heart. James is talking about replacing a list of regulations with a living, breathing love relationship. Whether we are grieving, or confused, or rejoicing over good news, we are invited to share our hearts completely with our Friend and Savior. And where the Spirit of God breathes through a man, flowing out in trust and prayer and praise, there is faith and a fresh spring of Life that lasts forever.

Here at the end of his letter, James is reminding us of basic instructions for everyday life in the Kingdom of God. To pray when we are in trouble. To praise and give thanks when we are blessed. To respond to the prompting of the Spirit of God Who lives in us and points our hearts ever and only to the Father. To “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) in Christ. From here James’ letter can turn quite naturally to the complexities of life in the Family of God, where we are taking part in one another’s growth and healing, in beautiful ways. But first things first.

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“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:8)

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“I know the night won’t last
Your Word will come to pass
My heart will sing Your praise again
Jesus, You’re still enough
Keep me within Your love
My heart will sing Your praise again

Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed me yet…”

(Do It Again, Elevation Worship)

An ancient Chinese philosopher said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” He was right in so many ways, and I keep thinking that if Big-Brother James had ever heard that now-famous saying, he probably would have paraphrased it to say that the life of faith begins with a single step of obedience. Not being the kind of man to sugar-coat anything, he is likely to warn you that the journey will be difficult, and you should not expect otherwise. But he would also be quick to point out– and this is what makes you want to keep on reading– that the rewards of the journey far outweigh any hardship along the way. All the single steps of faith are adding up into something wonderful under God’s watchful eyes and guiding hand.

What James actually says, is “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:4) He’s already looking ahead to where that first single step is going to take you, which makes sense if he is thinking about the journey being a rough one. It is wise to count the cost, to judge the value of the journey by its lasting benefit. In this case he declares any obstacles well-worth-it for the sake of arriving Whole and Healed at last. But just in case any of his readers are feeling cautious about committing fully (and can you really blame them for hesitating to follow in the footsteps of a Man who was tortured to death?), James reminds them that life’s entire journey is only a prelude to the Real Life ahead. 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 1:12)

Looking at that big picture, any one of us would declare our full intention to hang in there and finish the race, to claim the prize of Everlasting Life. And none of us would have any intention of giving up what we believe. Maybe a better question is What are we willing to do in order to persevere in our faith? What is the step right in front of us?

Because James isn’t talking about some abstract set of beliefs. James is intent on making our faith-journey real in the everyday. As he puts it, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17) From his perspective, the next step is always one of real life obedience. He’s talking to real people like us, struggling with circumstances we all experience…with our desires…with our emotions. And a real God who can help us deal with them in a way that brings growth, if we are willing to do the hard work of applying what we say we believe. The Church-planter Paul agreed, and knew how easy it is to get discouraged in the daily small things. He included himself in his pep-talk to others: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) This is what perseverance is really all about, and it lives and dies in the small individual steps of Today:

Will I choose to be joyful and patient when circumstances stink, because I believe God is growing me to maturity through them?

Will I stop to ask God for His wisdom and guidance, instead of trying to figure out this problem by myself, because I believe His ways are better?

Will I set my mind on His promises amid the wind and waves of my emotions, because I know He is unchanging and true?

Can I set aside time to pursue knowing God more, despite basketball schedules, the movie that is on the DVR, and posting the latest on Instagram, because my relationship with Him is more valuable than anything else?

Can I lay down my fears for the future and rest in my Maker’s provision of daily bread?

Can I resist the pull of possessions in the face of marketing and peer pressure and the whining of my children, because there is no significance or security to be found in Stuff?

Can I choose to be content with whatever Jesus gives me in this life, because He is weaving it all together for my eternal good?

Will I face honestly the bottomless pit of wanting in my heart, and all the destructive ways it seeks to have More? Have the courage to just say no?

Will I trust that God is who He says He is: unchanging goodness, faithfulness, perfection, light itself? In every situation, even when I don’t understand what He’s doing?

Will I bite back the angry careless words and instead say words that heal and encourage? Forgive that person one more time and seventy-times-seven? Trust God with the safety and happiness of the people I love? Champion the outcast and the needy?

James includes all these in his letter, in a heartfelt plea for us to put our faith into action. You can say you believe in God all you want, but it is the path you take that proves Who you are following after. Paul expands on the subject with more theological depth, and from him we know that it is the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit that enables us to walk by faith. He explains that Christ’s very nature will sprout up in us as we obey Him and walk hand-in-hand with Him. Paul goes so far as to say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

And if I will live the Christ-life, choose to act out what I believe over and over again– day after day for a lifetime, and against the world’s current that flows in the opposite direction– someday I will step right through the door into Eternal Life, still following in the footsteps of Jesus.

But for Today, all that is required is to take the next step…

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“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)

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“When the weight of the world begins to fall,
On the Name of Jesus I will call;
For I know my God is in control
and His purpose is unshakable.

Doesn’t matter what I feel;
Doesn’t matter what I see;
My hope will always be
In Your promises to me.
Now I’m casting out all fear,
For Your love has set me free;
My hope will always be
In Your promises to me.

As I walk into the days to come,
I will not forget what You have done;
For you have supplied my every need
And Your presence is enough for me…
You will always be more than enough for me.”
(Your Promises, Elevation Worship)

I have always thought perseverance is the boring virtue. I mean, let’s face it: Is this how I want people to remember me at the end of my life, as “a woman who hung in there“? Perseverance seems way too drab and uninspiring. Keeping on with the everyday of what you’ve been given, and then doing it all again tomorrow. Even when it’s hard. Even when no one notices. Even when it’s not where you want to be.  Perseverance is a slow steady progress that is easy to disparage.

It’s like in Aesop’s old story about the tortoise and the hare, where the fast hare is so confident in his abilities to win that he doesn’t even take the race seriously. And really, who wants to be like the tortoise in the story? No one wants to keep plodding along slow and steady when there are others out there flashing by, to the cheers of the crowd. (And wouldn’t we all rather have life come easily, with plenty of time to play in the meadow and take naps?) Sure, the tortoise won the race, but it wasn’t even through any skill or cleverness or strength on his part. All he had to do was keep on going. Anyone could have beaten the hare with that kind of mindset. But of course that is precisely the point. You can have all kinds of impressive skills, but it means nothing if it makes you careless and distracted. Confidence and charm are pointless if you are going to quit running in favor of indulging yourself, before you hit the finish line. In the long run the character quality of perseverance counts more than buckets of talent and ability, and not just in results. God says it’s actually a matter of who you are becoming on the inside.

Specifically, God says dull old perseverance is a building block of our character. When life gets tough and we find that things don’t come naturally to us, we get to choose whether to run away or to face the pain and let Him use it to grow us. James tells us with the straightforwardness of a Big-Brother, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:4) Any parent knows that without a worthwhile goal and a plan to get there, hanging on is nothing more than stubbornness. But perseverance is the holding-on strength that gets us to the end God has in mind for us, one step at a time– and James says the result is beautiful. “Count it all joy” because you know the Father is good, and has good things in mind for you.  Paul describes God’s work in us this way: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory….” Transformation is a long slow life-long race, and we will feel like giving up more often than not, but hanging in there is what enables God to do His glorious work inside.

Perseverance moves you to give grace to that person and try to communicate better, to work together, instead of walking away….even though your heart is hurting. Because healthy relationships matter.

Perseverance inspires you to clean up one more mess….drag yourself out of bed one more time….listen to one more story of playground drama… when what you really want is just eight solid hours of sleep, or a quiet cup of coffee on the porch. Because you know they are worth it.

Perseverance is what keeps you praying long and hard until you have God’s answer. No matter how long it takes. Because you trust His love and His power and His timing.

Perseverance pushes you to face another day of the same old thing: of errands and phone calls and workday and chores that will need to be done again tomorrow. Because these hidden acts of service laid down with love and prayer are building a home and nurturing lives that will last beyond this world.

And it comes by the Holy Spirit at work in us with His power, just like all the other virtues. I need the help, because my own determination wears out after awhile, especially when life gets difficult and complicated. The older I get, the more I value the simple virtue of slow and steady progress– being willing to make many small right choices over and over again, with God’s help, through the changing circumstances of life. It requires unwavering trust that all those smaller, more boring choices are adding up to something wonderful just because God says so. It is simple obedience in the everyday, according to James. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) Hang in there and keep on going. As old Aesop the storyteller said, “slow and steady wins the race.” And this Faith-race above all, is worth winning.

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“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 1:12)

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“Thank You for the wilderness
Where I learned to thirst for Your presence
If I’d never known that place
How could I have known You are better?

Thank You for the lonely times
When I learned to live in the silence
As the other voices fade
I can hear You calling me, Jesus

And it’s worth it all just to know You more

You’ve done great things
Jesus, Your love never fails me
My soul will sing, You have done great things”
(Elevation Worship)

Choosing a word for the year has become a January practice for some of us. We have learned to approach it with much thought and prayer and anticipation, because by the end of the year it generally looks quite different than we imagined it would play out, and we have found unexpected joy in how God unfolds a desire we offer up to Him. So we take the time to etch our words in ink and metal; we hang them on our walls and around our necks to remind us; we search out His Words and ask for understanding of what He is doing in our hearts. This seeking to grow in our faith-journey is something all us women who gather each week have in common.

So it is with a sense of purpose that we begin our study through James’ letter to the early Christians– God’s purpose, that is– and the full knowledge that we were intended to be here around this table at this particular point in time. I cannot think of more practical and direct advice for Christ-followers on how to live out our faith than James’ no-nonsense big brother approach, and as I begin through this letter once again, I am filled both with anticipation, and the knowledge of how much I have yet to learn.

James wastes no time diving right into “the testing of your faith” (1:3) and drives straightforwardly through to the possibility of straying in our faith and the need to “turn a sinner from the error of his way” (5:19). From his perspective, growing in your faith is neither easy nor optional. When Jesus talks about abiding in Him, we might get the impression that it is more peaceful, like a cottage in the woods with flower vines growing up the front… something quiet and quaint and soothing. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:9)  It sounds like a good place to live.

But in the next verse Jesus explains what abiding means: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Abiding is obedience. My obedience is a thing that still stutters and halts, along with trust– sometimes quick and joyful, sometimes wrestling with old pain, sometimes bending my thoughts and choices around His mold with all my strength like red-hot metal on the forge. (But I keep following along after You and keep listening for Your voice… “just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”) I can’t think of a better place to live. But it is not quaint and soothing. It is dying.

And all this giving and dying for what? Again, Jesus spells it out for me: “…apart from me you can do nothing….Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you….By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples….As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you….that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full….I have called you friends.” (John 15:5,7-9,11,15) If I am going to grow in love and abide in Christ it will take all my effort and all my desire– no careless living or peaceful existing– and yet ironically it will fill me up with the very things I need the most, the things I absolutely cannot live without.

It seems like too often we try to smooth over how rugged the choice to do right can actually be. Maybe we would rather dabble in Christian circles because we like the company, rather than actually “fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12) James is not afraid to confront us with the Truth: the life of faith is not for the cautious or for the coward, because love is an all-out business. “What good is it…if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14)  And I can hear Jesus’ words echoing; “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:13-14) Following Christ is going to take everything we have. But it is a choice we will not regret.

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“The abiding believer is the only legitimate believer.”  (John MacArthur)

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“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” (James 1:2-4)