Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
This Sunday we are continuing our new series of messages for the summer months on the Epistle of James, an inspired first-century letter penned by the very brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we have already made the important observation that while James was indeed the actual blood kin of the Son of God, he spoke of himself only as the slave or “servant” of “the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1).
And we also learned that this brief letter was written to the Church of our Savior, to new Christians, whom James referred to as “the twelve tribes” that had been scattered around the world by the providential hand of God—mostly through persecution. His Epistle targeted a number of very young Christian congregations dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, and these were largely made up of former Jews who had confessed that Jesus was the Messiah and Lord.
And now on Sunday we will come to the body of the letter where James immediately speaks of something that, when considered by itself, is not very pleasant at all—the subject of trials and tribulations. To be sure, these believers in the Lord Jesus to whom James wrote were paying a very high price to be loyal to their new King and Redeemer. We know this as a fact due to what is later set forth in the letter, most notably in chapter 5 where James encourages them to be patient and faithful in their times of difficulty and suffering (vv. 7-11).
But as we come to the beginning of the letter, we see that James takes on this rather delicate subject of suffering with much boldness. And he suggests an approach to trials and difficulty that is most distinct, and very surprising as well! In verses 2-4 he exhorts his readers to do that which seems hopelessly futile, if not impossible—to “count it all joy . . . when you encounter various trials”!
Let’s pray that the Lord will help us to understand why such an unusual command is given to those who are being so sorely afflicted, and how this same amazing “joy” can be ours!
I love you all with all my heart!
Mike