A Gift?

The past couple of weeks we have been studying the book of James in BSF.  It is full of snippets of powerful truths and instruction.  It starts off in Chapter 1 vs 2 with: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Persevernace must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  

I have been chewing on that "Consider it pure joy."  What does it mean to consider something pure joy?  As I sometimes do, I turned to Eugene Peterson's the Message for a usage of words I might understand.  He says it this way. "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

So James is saying we are to consider trials, difficulties, challenges, bad news, uncertainties as a gift.  Really, a gift?  I confess when I receive bad news or am faced with a challenging dilemma, my first thought is usually not, "Wow thank you God for this gift."  And it even seems hypocritical to say, God thank you for this gift of a diagnosis of schizophrenia in Peter because it isn't something I wish we really had.

As I pondered it, I thought about receiving a gift as a child.  You are excited about the toy with the bright colors, bells, whistles and frills.  You might even find some delight in the socks and underwear especially if they have cartoon characters or days of the week printed on them.  But that Savings Bond, a simple piece of paper you can't even color on or that Silver Dollar you aren't allowed to spend is harder to wrap your joy around.  Yet they have the greater value.  While the toys are soon broken and carried out to the curb and even the socks and underwear surpass their usefulness, the savings bond and coin increase in value.  And though it may not make you light up like a Christmas tree or jump for joy you can be grateful for it.  You can acknowledge it is a valuable gift from one who cares deeply.  Because don't those gifts usually come from a loving relative or friend who wants us to have more than temporary pleasure?  And you can trust in the value it will have.  

'Counting it joy; or 'considering it a gift' means that we view trials, even if not desirable, as something with great value.  We chose to see it as given by one who loves us deeply and is investing in the long term (should we even say eternal) and not merely our short term pleasure.

So thank you Lord for the current struggles I see in my family.  Thank you for my proximity to these painful struggles. Thank you for conditions that crash my dreams,  Thank you for a Pandemic that has the world in a tizzy.  Thank you for these "gifts" that thought they lack in warm fuzzies, will result in great value as I trust in you and lean on you as I walk through them.