As my sermon is coming together I was struck by the idea of how relevant this book is for us today. In the first verse we see that James is writing to those who have been dispersed thought the middle east, Asia Minor, Rome, etc. These christian enclaves were set into places where pagan religious practices and idol worship were prevalent. They were not set into a Christian nation.
In reality, isn’t that where the church is today? We say that we are a Christian nation, but to be honest, I don’t really know what the means. As I look around I see signs of idol worship, maybe its the car some one drives or the house they live in or the job they hold or the lifestyle the choose to live. Not that any of these things are bad in and of themselves, it is when they begin to control us rather than allowing God to guide us. I know at times I am guilty of this. So like the audience that James is writing to, this conflict between following Jesus and being in/of the world causes trials and struggles. This is one of the themes of this book.
We are told not to run away from these trials and struggle, but rather we are to endure through them so that God can mold us and shape us into the Christ-followers that He wants us to be. Is this easy? No. Is this painful? Maybe. Is this part of our spiritual formation? Definitely.
James does not leave us without hope. We are told to ask God for wisdom as to how to work through these trials. Later on in Chapter 3 James talks about the wisdom that we should apply. It is not worldly wisdom, rather it is the wisdom that comes down from heaven. It is the wisdom that produces peacemakers.
My question is this: What trials or struggles are you going through right now? Have you asked God for wisdom, His wisdom to handle the situation or are you relying on worldly wisdom?