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Consider It Nothing But Joy (James 1:2-4)

2My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; 4and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. — James 1:2-4 (NRSV)

Sometimes reading a passage from the Bible in a translation other than the one you are used to can really give you fresh insight. Here, what caught me off guard was how the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) phrased a familiar verse speaking of how to deal with trials in this life by saying that we should “consider it nothing but joy”. I am used to reading “count it all joy”, which I guess sounds too much like “it’s all good”, which is a phrase I don’t particularly care for. But “consider it nothing but joy” is a new understanding for me.

Instead of knowing that the trial was a bad thing that I was supposed to dress up as a good thing (counting it as joy), I am actually supposed to not even think anything about the trial was bad, but rather see through the apparent badness to the joy that it was meant to bring. How can a trial bring joy? Well, if you can accept the truth that the real objective in life for a follower of Jesus is supposed to be one of becoming more like Jesus — rather than the objective we seem to have, which is getting through each day with as little hassle as possible — then it is easy to see how trials bring joy. There is no better way to become like Jesus than to have your faith tested. How can you develop character when things go well? But when things go badly, you learn whether you have true faith or not. If you fail the test, it is not the end of the road, but rather a chance to get on the right road.

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Humility and Service is the Way of Jesus (John 13:14-17)

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you… Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” — John 13:14-15,17 (NIV)

Even though I have been trying to follow Jesus for 30 years, I need to be reminded frequently of the basics of a life of faith. One of the most fundamental aspects of following Jesus is to learn to walk humbly, thinking more highly of others than of myself, and demonstrating that understanding by serving my brothers and sisters, helping to meet their needs. Jesus says that I will be blessed if I learn to follow His example of humble service — which I suppose means that I will miss His blessing (at least the one that comes as a result of humble service) if I do not.

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The Father’s Love for Jesus in our Hearts (John 17:26)

“I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” — John 17:26 (NASB)

There are treasures in the Word of God that you cannot appreciate until you pause to ask yourself if it is possible that the passage means what it seems to mean. This verse is my new-found gem. Jesus here is praying for us — all who would one day believe in Jesus (see v. 20). He is telling His Father that He will keep revealing His Name — the character and nature of the Father — to as many people as will listen. Then Jesus says something truly astonishing: the purpose of revealing the Father is so that those who embrace this revelation may actually have the Father’s love for Jesus in them!

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Grace Upon Grace (John 1:16)

From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. — John 1:16 (ESV).

We saw in verse 14 how Jesus was “full of grace and truth”. Now we see that one way Jesus demonstrates this fullness is through pouring out to His followers “grace upon grace”. This means literally that He pours out his blessings to us again and again and again, in ways we never expected or anticipated. This speaks not only of sufficiency but of abundance.

Grace can mean “unmerited favor”, and one way to understand “grace upon grace” is that Jesus has given us incredible favor with God. Whereas before Jesus came, we were distant from God, because of the gifts emanating from fullness of Jesus, we are brought to incredible closeness to God. As it says elsewhere in the New Testament, we are invited right up to His throne to be with Him, and we don’t have to be ashamed of ourselves when we are there. Indeed, we are told to be bold in going there, and are told that we are welcome to even sit on the throne with Jesus, not just in the future age, but now.

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Full of Grace and Truth (John 1:14)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14 (ESV).

The mysterious “Word” that the Apostle John has been writing about so far in the introduction to his Gospel is getting closer to being revealed. We read that the “Word” actually “became flesh” — that is, came into the world as a human being — and lived among people rather than held Himself aloof and isolated. Furthermore, John and others (“we”) actually knew Him and observed Him to the extent that they saw His “glory”. Glory is an outward manifestation of honor or magnificence, and it was such that John says that it demonstrated that He was the one and only Son of God — though we do not know from this passage specifically how that appeared to people that saw it. One magnificent example is given in Mark 9:2-10, where Jesus was transfigured into a dazzling white before the eyes of John, Peter, and James — and where the three heard the voice of the Father proclaim, “This is my Son, listen to Him” (NIV).

What I like most about this verse, however, is that we learn that this Word, this only Son of the Father, was full of grace and truth. When you are getting to know someone, one of the things most people try to discern is the person’s character. Are they trustworthy, honest, of good character, or perhaps dangerous? There is something comforting about the Son of God being full of truth — no treachery, lies, or half-truths. That means that He is trustworthy, because His word — the Word’s word — can be counted on. But even more, it is comforting that He is full of grace. That means that He is not harsh, critical, rigid, or lacking compassion. People who are gracious can see the best in others, and gently overlook or kindly speak to failings and weaknesses they see.

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First posted December 1, 2009

 

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It’s Easy to Become A Child of God (John 1:12)

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. — John 1:12 (NIV)

I have been coming to realize in the last few weeks how many different things God offers to us that are really great deals but which require at least some kind of action or response on our part. And it is amazing to me the number of people who fail to respond!

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To Get Peace, Give Thanks (Philippians 4:6-7)

It seems like the times we live in are times of turmoil — and some say it is the greatest ever! Whether that is objectively true — that things are worse now, say, than around World War I or the Great Depression or World War II or the Cold War with the Korean War, the Cuban Missle Crisis, and the Vietnam War — it’s not as clear. Perhaps with globalization of news we just hear so much more bad stuff. Or perhaps whatever turmoil we are in at the moment seems like the worst to us. Whatever is true about these ideas, I’ll bet you have some things in your life that make you feel anxious. But listen to this passage from the Bible:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul instructs us not to be anxious about anything… Don’t you just hate it when somebody tells you not to worry?! It just doesn’t seem helpful, unless they can give you some reason not to worry, or some way to overcome the worry. Fortunately, this is exactly what he does for us.

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The World Did Not Receive Him (John 1:5,10-11)

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it… He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. — John 1:5,10-11 (NIV)

These are perhaps some of the saddest verses of the Bible. God does something earth-shattering — He comes into the world to rescue people from the prison in which they are held captive. But when He comes, instead of cheers for their imminent rescue and gratitude to their brave rescuer, they do not even recognize what is happening and who it is that is there for them. People had become so accustomed to darkness that light was a very foreign concept to them. They once knew light, and their essential nature was light, but that part of their nature that should have and could have recognized Him failed to. Instead, they rejected Him.

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The Word was God (John 1:1-3)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. — John 1:1-3 (NIV)

These powerful verses draw us into a mystery. Who or what is “the Word”, who was present with God at the beginning, when all things were created? The Beloved Disciple slowly reveals over the course of the chapter that he is referring to Jesus.

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Extravagant Love: A Reflection on Mary of Bethany

One of the most remarkable stories in the Bible speaks loudly to us about extravagant love. The story I would like us to focus on is a well-known one about Mary of Bethany and Jesus, which occurred in the week before Jesus died on the cross. It appears in three of the four Gospels, in John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; and Mark 14:3-9. Each telling of the story adds a little to the whole story, so we will look at parts of all three. This story can be life-changing, and I can attest that it continues to change my life as Mary’s example teaches me and challenges me to give my heart so completely to God that my own needs are secondary.

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