James 1:12-15: Life and More Life
Friday, September 30, 2022
Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
We perhaps find it difficult to believe that our trials are blessings . . . yet this is a belief we must nurture and cultivate. We are created in God’s Spirit and this abiding force will always find a way to turn harm to good.
Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way.
We perhaps see God as a castigator, a deliverer of punishment . . . but in this we would have erred. We are created in love, by love, as an image of God’s love.
The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us.
We perhaps feel weighed down by a sense of guilt for what we have done or what we have failed to do . . . and in this we will be mistaken. Jesus continually invites us to forgive and be forgiven.
Where we see lack, James invites us to see abundance.
Where we find oppression, James invites us to take up the eternal freedom he has gained for us.
Where we encounter overwhelming odds, James invites us to experience life and more life.
Use the scripture link above to explore various versions of these verses, and be open to receive the gifts that come to us through the obstacles in our lives.
Image from: http://simpleeconomist.com/30-day-challenges-expand-your-mind-and-comfort-zone/
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