When going through hardship, the last thing we want to think about is how to keep growing
as disciples of Jesus.
We usually focus on just surviving, while the many areas of our lives that need transformation
fall to the wayside.
But the letter of James challenges this tendency, and instead tells us that God wants to use
these times to bring us to greater maturity in Christ.
When Jesus ascended to the Father, he left his disciples with a Commission to bring the
gospel to the whole world.
Within two years, the community of committed Christ followers had grown greatly…but so
had opposition.
It was at this time that Stephen was martyred: the first Christian to lose his life for being
associated with Jesus.
After Stephen’s death, a local persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem.
Some Jewish religious leaders broke into homes in order to drag people to prison, just for
being Christians.
This was the first organized assault that the young church would experience.
Most fled Jerusalem for their lives, traveling as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.
Only the Apostles and other church leaders remained in the city.
At first, these scattered Jewish believers were passionate about their faith and proclaimed
the good news in all the lands to which they travelled, initially only to other Jews.
Their message about Jesus, however, was largely rejected by Jewish communities beyond Judea.
As a result, they too were rejected.
They no longer fit in with those Jews who did *not* believe that Jesus was the long-awaited
Jewish Messiah.
At the same time, they also didn’t fit in with Gentiles, who viewed them as just another
Jewish sect that avoided pagan temples and idolatrous festivals.
As the years of their exile stretched on, these Christian refugees grew increasingly
weary and down-hearted.
God wasn’t showing up to help them in the ways they expected.
As a result, their trust in God and his faithfulness decreased.
Instead they began placing their trust in the wealthy for provision and protection.
Selfishness and individualism ruled their hearts, leading them to turn against and slander
one another.
Exhausted by the circumstances, good works became optional rather than faith’s essential
fruit.
These worn-out Christians needed wisdom and encouragement to put them back on track.
It finally came to them in the form of a letter from none other than the half brother of Jesus
himself: James.
The Gospels tell us that early on James had a hard time believing his big brother was
the Jewish Messiah.
He and the rest of his family didn’t understand Jesus’ ministry methods and at times even
questioned his sanity!
But, after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to James, who then came to realize that Jesus
was exactly who he claimed to be!
Can you imagine THAT conversation?!
In the following years, James became a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church.
He was one of the leaders who remained in the city after the persecution began.
He used it as a base to provide oversight and pastoral care to the scattered Christian
community.
For them, he was a pillar in difficult times.
His spiritual strength and devoted faithfulness to Jesus was a model for others and a great
comfort.
It was this strength that James offered the discouraged believers scattered in and beyond
Judea.
As their devoted rabbi, his heart longed to encourage them to remain steadfast, and even
to grow, despite the difficult season.
Like a good rabbi, James explains that two paths lay before them with two very different
ends.
They could continue down their current path; giving in to the temptations of their evil
desires, which would result in death.
Or they could course correct and apply God’s wisdom to help them be faithful and persevere
through the trial, which results in life.
Like James’ readers, we may find ourselves beaten down by hard times, wondering where
God is, and struggling to stay on God’s path to life.
But what if, instead, we trusted James’ wisdom and asked God how he wants to use our
circumstances to make us more like Jesus?
What if we walked out our faith by looking beyond ourselves and began caring for others
going through even greater difficulties than we are?
When we begin to shift to this kind of thinking, we begin to experience maturity…and that
is the James effect.