The crown of life

The book of James

James, Jesus’ brother, wrote these letters to the Jewish-Christians who were scattered throughout the Roman world. Back then they did not have the support of established churches, so he wrote to them as a concerned leader to encourage them through faith during difficult times.

James 1:1-12

¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

Trials and Temptations

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Don’t you love when someone just speaks out of truth and honesty sometimes? James isn’t suggesting that you may go through trials or here is some helpful information in case trails come your way. No, he says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The King James Version uses the word patience instead of perseverance. The Greek definition for patience in this passage is: hupomone – meaning cheerful, or hopeful, endurance, constancy.

We will be tested wont we? I see an ongoing cycle in my life that looks a little something like this.

(1) The testing and the perseverance of the trail, (2) the sifting & the cleansing I receive from the trail and (3) the freedom and the joy in receiving the crown of life once we’ve made it to the end of the trail. Repeat – Anybody else?

James goes on to say,

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Picture this visual with me. You’re in the middle of the ocean, for this purpose will represent your trial or circumstance. Because you are a Christian (meaning received Jesus as your personal savior) God equips you with a boat (representing the Word of God). When you trust God with your circumstance he becomes your anchor (which represents faith). So when the waves began to swell all around you, you hold steady.

Then picture with me what it may look like to have doubt in trusting God. You are on a boat out in the middle of the ocean, you are trusting God to save you but you are doubting his ability or love to do so. So you’re riding on the Word of God but lacking (doubting) the trust and faith for God to see you through. You’ve now become a lost vessel among the sea being tossed and carried at the mercy of something that you have no control over.  You set sail without your anchor and if the storm gets too intense you take the risk of capsizing and sinking, disoriented and afraid. I sometimes think that Satan tries to make our trials look easier or more manageable than what they really are to try and convince us that we can go about it alone. Trust me, we need our anchor.

James continues;

⁹ The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰ But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

What James is talking about here is this. Riches in earthly wealth mean nothing to God. He cares about the riches in our heart. He wants what will last eternally, not the things that will be burned up eventually. When we are the most humble before God, we are the richest. We become poor when we think our material richness trumps the power and authority and love our LORD has over us.  1 John 2:17¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Let's close with this. James 1:12

¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

I read in the study notes of my bible that the crown of life is like the victory wreath given to the winning athlete. We see all throughout scripture God showing us the different crowns we will receive. Example: the crown of life (James 1:12, Rev 2:10), the crown of Joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19), the crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8), crown of glory (1Peter 5:4), just to name a few. We know that after the rapture takes place we will stand before Him and lay them at His feet. How exciting is that. I don’t want to be finished too quickly having to watch everyone else lay theirs down, I’m not meaning this in a competitive way (I promise!). I just want to honor Him by laying down all the times I've believed Him and trusted Him fully with His plan.

I can picture a time in my life that I jumped ship and found myself in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a raft. I was clinging onto something that I made into my anchor and hung it around my neck. Once the first blow from the storm came I was over taken by the waves and nearly drowned.

We need to be equipped. He offers us the Word of God, Faith and Trust. We have to persevere through the storms and allow him to be our anchor. Then we will walk away with the crown of life, let me say that again, then we will walk away with the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Join me next week as we look into the 2^nd part of James 1. It gets really good.