Consider it all Joy …

The book of James has a lot to say about dealing with trials and struggles for our faith in Jesus Christ. These days, it seems like we Christians are an unwelcomed group in our culture. Consider it all 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 it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any one of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

For most readers today, this is a completely nonsensical statement. Who, but a masochist, would consider life threatening trials and persecutions as pure joy? Imagine the thoughts that would be going through your mind if you were a member of James’ persecuted and scattered congregation. “I had a nice home and business in Jerusalem. Sure, we were occupied by the Roman army, but I made a decent living. I could support my family. Now we are living as refugees in Cyprus trying to make a new start, and the romans are insisting that I worship Caesar. Where is the joy to be found in this situation?”

Here is our new study of the book of James. I hope you can join us in the Generations Class as we walk through this study for the next 10 Sunday mornings. If you’d like more information on this study, or others on IAmNarrative, please send us a comment. We look forward to hearing from you.