Sign Up for the Class, Expect the Test.

Posted by chrisrose on Jul 20, 2011 in Daily Bread | 2 comments

James 1:1-8 is an encouragement to believers, and a sort of wake up call to those who believe being a Christian earns them a life free of worry. But being a Christian is the opposite of that. As Christians, we take a stand and say “this is the Truth.” We proclaim it and don’t back away from it which causes a great deal of conflict, and usually much “trying of our faith.”

When we make the decision to follow Christ, and to ask him to improve us and make us more like Him, we are placing ourselves directly in the path of trials. It is the only way to truly grow. But if we ask without being fully committed to doing what it takes to get there, we will be “unstable in all our ways.” In other words we will fail. From far off, sin always looks so good. But learning to stay takes a lot of practice. If we ask, Christ will show us how, but if we allow ourselves to play with sin while trying to be more Christ-like we will become unstable in our quest and fail to reach the end result.

You wouldn’t sign up to become a Ph. D. and be surprised when the tests are difficult. Neither should be surprised when we face trials in our Christian walk. So James is telling us that we better be sure of what we’re asking before we ask, otherwise there is no hope that we will be successful.