James 1:21-25 – “Seeing the Value”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²¹Wherefore, putting off all filthiness and excess of badness, receive in humility the engrafted Word, the one being able to save your soul; ²²and be doers of [the] Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, ²³because, if someone is a hearer of [the] Word and not a doer, this one is like a man observing the face of his birth in a mirror; ²⁴for he saw himself and has gone away, and immediately forgot what he was; ²⁵but the one looking [intently] into the perfect law, the one of freedom, and continues [in it], not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in his doing.

There is so much in these verses, but it all comes down to the question of whether God’s Word actually changes me or not.

I think in the past, as I have read these verses, there has been a sort of underlying discontent in my heart. Of course I want to be a doer and not just a hearer; but I think I’ve always sensed it isn’t enough to simply be determined, “I’m going to be a doer.” I would want to be a doer, not just a hearer, but then I would go away not really sure what I need to do to make it happen.

I think now, having studied the text, it is just that there is so much more going on than meets the casually glancing eye. As I hope I can explain, it is the casual glance which in the end is part of the problem. Yes, we should all be doers and not just hearers, but the very admonition should cause us to stop and ponder and sincerely search out what it is that moves a person from a hearer to a doer. The passage before us actually provides some answers to this question, but I think it particularly teaches us to consider deeply what it is we desire, what it is we actually value.

Here’s what I mean: Obviously, following the text, there is a need to put off our natural rottenness, all our “filthiness and excess of badness!” I suspect this is a starting point – how do we see ourselves? If we flatter ourselves, highlight our good and minimize our bad, we won’t really see the need of the Word. On the other hand, “filthiness and excess of badness?” Those are not flattering words! Grace would reveal to us “Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness – only wounds and welts and open sores” (Isaiah 1:5,6). “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Jesus admonished the Laodiceans, “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Rev 3:17,18).

“Buy from me,” says Jesus. But we’ll only “buy” to the extent we really believe we need Him. There in Rev 3, they didn’t see they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” so they didn’t see the need of Jesus’ help. In our text, if I don’t see the need, if I’m not desperate for Him, I’ll hear but I won’t value what I hear. When it comes to the Word, to not value it guarantees it won’t change me. Here’s another place to see it is so important to understand that desire is the gatekeeper of our hearts.

That is why, I think, He says “… receive in humility the engrafted Word, the one being able to save your soul.” As I Peter 5:5 tells us, “God resists the proud; He gives His grace to the humble.” It is an “engrafted Word.” The truth is something which must be engrafted into our hearts. We do not possess it naturally. It must be received in the humility of realizing we don’t have it but need it, like Jesus’ “gold refined in the fire” and “white clothes to wear” and “salve for our eyes.” And it isn’t just any word, it is “the one being able to save your souls.” The issues in which it would barter are our eternal welfare.

If we would be doers of the Word, it must be a Word we desperately need, one which dwells naturally nowhere within us but must be received, must be engrafted into us, and one which we understand has the power to transform our very existence. Again, it is a question of value. We’ll only receive it if our heart’s gatekeeper sees its value and truly desires it. Back to verse 14, desire allured by sin will get us killed. But, in verse 16, desire can also be sanctified if our hearts would see that “every good and perfect gift is from above.” It’s a question of what we want, what we see as valuable.

This passage has more to say but I think it all centers around this question of value. I want to record more of these thoughts but I’ll stop here and continue in the next post.

God help us all to truly value the Word, to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Only then will we find the blessing of being doers of the Word.

James 1:19-20 – “Pearls of Wisdom”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹My beloved brothers, know [this], let every man be swift into the hearing, slow into the speaking, slow into anger, ²⁰for the anger of man is not producing [the] righteousness of God.

“Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to get angry.” What an ideal objective to take with us every day!

One of the issues commentators deliberate is whether v19 applies in general to life or specifically to the hearing of the Word. As they point out, just before this, in v18, “He gave us life through the word of truth” then immediately following, in v21 we’re admonished to receive the engrafted Word, then follows the discussion of being doers of the Word and “not hearers only.”

Certainly being “swift to hear, slow to speak” applies directly to the hearing of the Word and it (the Word) is front and center in this passage. Just this last Sunday I found this verse helpful as I found our pastor teaching a message that I “didn’t like.” The Lord kept reminding me, “Swift to hear, slow to speak …” I can say first hand it definitely applies to the hearing of the Word!

All of that being said, though, I don’t necessarily buy that James is specifically wanting us to apply v19 to only the hearing of Bible truth. I guess I’m just not sure you can compartmentalize life that neatly. What I mean is, I doubt anyone will do well listening to the Word when they don’t listen well to anyone or anything else. Good listening, if it’s real, involves realizing I have a lot to learn, sincerely valuing the thoughts of others, of realizing that a huge expression of love is to deliberately listen to what others wish to say.

My contention would be the person who hasn’t learned these things in their everyday life isn’t going to suddenly become humble and teachable just because he’s sitting on a pew. I think it is a lifestyle decision. The fool who “finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions” (Prov 18:2) is the same fool in church or out. When the Lord warns us, “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and shame” (Prov 18:13), He certainly never intended us to think that applies only to the hearing of the Word, as important and applicable as that may be. As I have often contended, our world is fractal, not just linear. Even though time passes linearly, our lives consist of patterns more so than a series of events. This business of being like Jesus and practicing a humble spirit is a pattern we pursue, not just a choice we make as we sit in church (though, as I was reminded on Sunday, that certainly is part of it!).

I guess I just want to make the point (since this is my blog and, being a fool, I’m airing my own opinions!) that “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” is a motto we should all take with us all day every day everywhere we go.

For whatever it’s worth, I have to say too, while we’re on the subject, that “listening” is not an activity that many excel in. It is shocking to me how much we all talk and how little we communicate. For myself, it is a rare experience to want to “tell someone something” and ever find anyone who actually listens. It is really quite frustrating until I’m reminded that I don’t do so well myself. I walked away from a conversation a week or so ago with the Lord making me realize that I very specifically was not listening. It makes me sick, to think someone was trying to tell me something and I was too full of myself to just stop and actually listen. They deserved better than that. “Swift to hear, slow to speak.” I’m quite sure when people spoke to Jesus He gave them His undivided attention. We all know that look on someone’s face when they really do care, when they really are listening, when they really do value us and whatever on earth it is we’re trying to say. That is a Jesus look. I hope and pray I’ll be more of that to other people and less and less of the self-engrossed buffoon I naturally am.

And “slow to anger” – what a blessing that has been to learn as I’ve tried to follow Jesus. Anger makes so much sense at the time, the words we want to say, the way we think we should treat people. Then there’s the “afterward.” “A fool shows his annoyance at once … his heart blurts out folly …” but “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways.” Seems like the older I get the more shocked I am at what an impatient buffoon I am. I get angry at the least little displeasure. Here I am sincerely wanting to live a life of love and yet finding myself all in a fluff over the most trivial stupid things. God help me. I guess the good news is that He has. Even though I am a ridiculously impatient buffoon, at least I know I’m not as bad as I was. I’m not as bad as I could be. And that is because the Lord has taught me so much about this emotion of anger. I think the best thing He taught me is basically just to keep my mouth shut! Once in a while there are things I really should have said, but most of the time I am really, really glad I didn’t!

The Word of God is certainly a string of pearls but this one is one of the brightest: “Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” May He help me keep it in the very front of my heart. What a jewel of truth!

James 1:19-20 – “Gnomic”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹My beloved brothers, know [this], let every man be swift into the hearing, slow into the speaking, slow into anger, ²⁰for the anger of man is not producing [the] righteousness of God.

As seems to be the case with James, I have to note again there are many, many great commentaries already out there which address these verses. There is so much to learn here, so many supporting verses about good listening, about being slow to speak, about the dangers of anger, and, on the other hand, verses indicating those few instances where anger may be a good thing. For the most part, what needs to be said already has been. That being the case, I intend to simply jot down a teacupful of my own personal thoughts and leave the ocean of truth as available as it is to anyone interested enough to consult any of so many good commentaries.

One thing, for whatever it’s worth, I keep noticing in James. In Koine Greek their default tense was the aorist. In English ours is the present. In other words, if we don’t particularly intend to make any point about time, past, present or future, we use the present. Like in the familiar old title, “Everybody loves Raymond,” the point isn’t that it is happening in the present or past or future. It’s just true. Grammarians refer to this as a “gnomic” use of the present. It has been my personal observation after studying in Biblical Greek for years that they used their aorist in the same way. What is unusual to me is that I think James actually uses the present as a gnomic.

You see this in my translation of his proverbial statement: “…the anger of man is not producing the righteousness of God.” I translated it in a definite present tense form, “is not producing” only because I’m being literal (to remind myself later there is a present tense going on). My point is that probably a better translation of James’ thought would be, “… for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” That is a gnomic expression – something that simply is true all the time, everywhere.

I’m belaboring this point simply to say (in case anyone else is interested in the details of the text) that I have already seen James do this a number of times in just the first 20 verses of the very first chapter. Obviously that is how Greek “worked” in his head. Of course Greek was not his native tongue. I have a suspicion Paul probably grew up bilingual, growing up in Antioch, well away from Judea proper. But I’ll bet James did not, growing up apparently right in Jerusalem. Aramaic would have been his native tongue and if he was bilingual it probably would have included their traditional Hebrew, not Greek.

Thus I offer the observation that James is probably writing Aramaic/Hebrew in Greek. In other words, not being fluent in Greek, he is actually thinking in Aramaic/Hebrew, then (perhaps somewhat clumsily) recording those thoughts in Greek. The conclusion of it all, for anyone doing careful exegesis or wanting to translate James, is not to be too emphatic about occurrences of the present.

An example of this occurred back in v16. The opening command “Be not deceived,” is a present. That being the case, someone suggested it should be translated “Stop being deceived.” I think that would be true in almost any other book of the New Testament. The Greek man shouting at his dog, “Stop barking!” used the present tense. But, once again, it has been my observation so far in this book that James is using the present as his default tense, as the tense to express gnomic truth. That being the case, even though, “Stop being deceived,” would in fact be a technically correct translation, I don’t think it to be the case in James.

This example also demonstrates why I’m making all this fuss. Once again, the first job of the serious exegete is to determine exactly, in any given text, what God says and what He does not -- to rightly divide the Word of Truth. It is a different sense whether, in v16, James is saying, “Be not deceived” (gnomic sense) or “Stop being deceived” (a command to stop an action already in progress). Someone insisting on normal, technically precise Koine Greek could certainly make a case for the latter. But, once again, having already seen James using the present way more often than normal and in what I perceive to be a gnomic sense, I rather think we should understand his meaning as the former. Interesting that is the traditional translation. Men (who were far greater scholars than I’ll ever be) also thought a gnomic sense the proper understanding of the actual text.

And, finally, back to our text, the phrase should be properly translated, “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (gnomic sense), rather than “The anger of man is not producing the righteousness of God” – something happening in the present. The latter translation leaves open the question, “Oh really? Did it used to produce the righteousness of God and right now, for some reason it is not?” or “Really? So if we work real hard, we could fix it and someday it would?” The gnomic sense leaves neither of these doors open and establishes the truth for all time, past, present, and future, that man’s anger does not (ever) produce the righteousness of God.

All of this is not to dismiss the existence of “righteous anger” which Jesus demonstrated is possible. What it does establish is that such anger, to actually be righteous, is something that simply does not originate from us. The “anger of man” is something godless and hopelessly sinister. Anger, like wealth, is something we should only use with the greatest of humility and fear of ourselves, prayerfully and very carefully keeping our gaze fixed on Jesus, lest it (so easily) devolve into “the anger of man.”

I think I still want to record some more practical thoughts on this text, so I’ll close here and address those in another post.

James 1:16-18 – “The Wall”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁶Do not be being deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, from Whom there is no shifting or hint of change.¹⁸Purposing, He gave us birth by a word of truth, in order that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.

As I studied this, one of the first things that caught my eye was v16 “Be not deceived …” I have been aware for years of vv13-15 on the progress of sin and I’ve certainly been aware of verse 17, “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.” What I’ve never noticed before is the fact that this v16, “Be not deceived” falls in between. Any time the Lord tells us “Be not deceived” obviously He thinks we’re in danger that we will! And obviously, in this case, the deception is that we might find ourselves in vv13-15 (somewhere in the process of being tempted) and need to believe vv17,18. Again, the "Be not deceived" of v16 falls in between. If I’m not making sense, go back and read vv13-18 as a unit. I think you’ll see what I mean. I’ve never before seen the logical flow through the entire section.

In what are we in danger of being deceived? I think, from the text, the answer is that we are in danger of being deceived concerning this matter that “every good and perfect gift comes from God.” Note the “every.” Every good gift comes from God. That’s what we are in danger of forgetting.

Why would we be in danger of forgetting that? Most commentators go all the way back to v13 and say it is because we are so prone to blame God for our sins. They go on and see how in vv17,18, so much of the goodness of God is emphasized. They would suggest the flow of thought is, “Don’t be deceived into thinking God is to blame for your sins. That is not possible because He is a good God.”

All they are saying is true and that is certainly a legitimate take on the passage. However, what struck me was something more immediate in the text and something I personally found more immediately helpful.

Rather than going all the way back to v13, I would suggest we only need go as far as vv14,15, to the anatomy of sin, to the process of allurement. In those verses we were reminded that temptation is something that plays with our “wanter” as I like to call it. Temptations only “work” on us because they find in us desires. Once again, a stick on a hook won’t get a second look from a fish, but a big, juicy, wiggling worm is almost sure to land him in your frying pan. We “give in” to sin because there is something we “want” and because temptation has succeeded in convincing us we can get it.

What is going on? Temptation is convincing us there are “good and perfect gifts” to be had if we will only push God aside and take them by force. We imagine there are “good and perfect gifts” to be had and I can get them for myself. The very essence of an unregenerate life is believing I simply don’t need God “to be happy.” I can get it myself. A believer knows He’s there and that we need Him, but if there is something we “want” badly enough and we perceive He might “get in the way” we can conveniently ignore the voice of conscience, conveniently “go on” not allowing ourselves to stop and ask whether what we’re doing is truly good. Whether lost or saved, we convince ourselves we don’t need God to obtain the “good and perfect gifts” of life.

And what is James’ assertion in the middle of this kind of thinking? “Be not deceived, … every good and perfect gift is from God.” And again, note the “every.” What is he saying? I believe James would have us know that one of the greatest bulwarks to protect ourselves from temptation and sin (and the death it will bring), essentially one of the walls to stand between us and our own self-destruction, is believing that every good gift is from God. Every good gift. Sin and satan show us “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” and promise us “All this I will give you …” Like the fish, all we can see is the alluring, voluptuous worm; the hook is carefully hidden from our view.

But, before we bite, we would be protected if we would remind ourselves, “Wait a minute, good gifts come only from God. There has to be something wrong here whether I see it or not. I’d better not bite on this. I’d better step back and somehow wait for God to give me the good gift I so desire. Regardless of what I think I’m seeing, I know and am convinced that good gifts come only from God. Sin cannot possibly deliver what it seems so convincingly (and alluringly) to be promising me.”

How many families would still be together if a husband or wife would have remembered this when that special “someone” lured them away? How many young girls would have never gotten pregnant, would have never married that godless young man, if they’d remembered good gifts come only from God? How many young men would have never gotten involved with that hot (but godless) girl who ended up breaking their heart and wrecking their life? How many fathers would have kept their work and home in balance if they’d have remembered this when “big bucks” and “success” lured them into being “gone all the time?”

We can go right down the list – whatever are your own particular allurements, the things that seem to “work” most on you – and they would all lose their power if we would but keep in mind, “Wait a minute. Good gifts come only from God” – if we’d not allow ourselves to be deceived.

The goodness of God is or should be or could be a wall to stand firmly between us and the inevitable wages of sin – death. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6). “A rewarder.” The Lord encouraged Abraham telling him, “I am your shield and your exceeding great reward” (Gen 15:1). One of Jesus’ responses to temptation was, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4).

For myself, I don’t (at this point) feel it helpful to be reminded of God’s goodness for the purpose of helping me not to blame Him for my sins. I do find it very helpful to see that He is the exclusive provider of every good and perfect gift, that they can and will come from nowhere else.

I could make a lot of comments particularly about vv17,18. There is obviously a literal ton of deep theology expressed in these two simple verses. But there are many, many excellent commentaries out there which have already done exactly that. So I think I won’t take the time – except to note that vv17,18 and the point of this passage reminds me why it is so important to study theology. The wall we’re talking about will only help us to the extent we actually do know God, to the extent we understand Who He is, that He is good and what that means. Doctrine and theology are not and should not be “dry” subjects. As we see in this passage, Who God is and whether I know it has everything to do with whether I can live in this world successfully or instead be deceived and endlessly self-destruct. The study of theology is only dry if we fail to connect its profound truths to the everyday lives we all live.

My wanter – my problem. My good God – my wall of deliverance. "He who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also graciously give us all things” (Rom 8:32). Jesus went to the Cross to buy us out of hell. May I never lose sight of His loving gaze. May I never believe someone or something else can do me good.

“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights.”

James 1:13-15 – “Beware the Wanter”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹³Let no one being tempted be saying that I am being tempted from God, for God [is] untemptable of evils and He himself is tempting no one; ¹⁴but each one is being tempted, being dragged away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵That lust, having conceived, is giving birth to sin and that, having matured, brings forth death.

I suppose it makes perfect sense to move from the subject of trials in general (vv1-12) to temptation to sin. Now, it is true “temptation to sin” is a trial in itself, but then any time we are under duress, it is easy to fall into all sorts of bad behavior or bad responses. So before James leaves the subject, he takes these three verses to address the subject head on.

The first (and probably most fundamental) factor to acknowledge is that God has nothing to do with our sins. Since Adam (“the woman You gave me, she …”), we have all been born incorrigible blameshifters. We’ll blame anyone and anything rather than simply own our own bad choices. Ultimately, that blameshifting game does bring us back to God. If it isn’t my fault, then ultimately it is His. “The woman You gave me, she ..” Adam was blaming Eve, but notice the jab he inserts toward God Himself.

Such thoughts are of course ludicrous since God is the very source of goodness. It is oxymoronic to in any way associate Him with evil.

Instead James makes it very clear: ^“…but each one is being tempted, being dragged away and enticed by his own lust.” “By his own lust.” The problem is always entirely to be found inside of myself. Regardless of where they come from, the only reason temptations “work” is because they appeal to me, they appeal to my “wanter.” I could put a stick on a hook and throw it in the water and the fish won’t give it a second look; but make that a juicy, wiggly night crawler and suddenly I can get a fish to bite on a sharp hook that lands him in my frying pan. It worked because it appealed to him. It “worked” because there was something inside of him that gave my allurement power.

The word translated “lusts” is actually just a word for strong desires. It can be a good thing, if what is desired is good and right. But clearly, in this context, we’re talking about evil desires, hence I’ve used the world “lusts.” The only danger of using “lusts” is that someone may think we’re only talking about sexual sin, but that is not the case. I’m using the word “lusts” with all evil desires in mind.

The other thing worth noting is that “desire” or “lust” is precisely our problem. It is the engine that drives our sin nature. For myself, it helps me to call it my “wanter.” The problem is always in what I “want.” Peter says God has given us what we need to “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (II Peter 1:4). What is the cause of the “corruption in the world”? “Evil desires.” And what do they rob us of? The ability to “participate in the divine nature.”

It helps me to pin it down like this. Based on these kinds of verses, I learn that, if I want to stay on top of my sin nature, it is my “wanter” I have to keep an eye on. I need to ever be more aware of what I am wanting. Especially I need to be aware when the wanting gets strong and it’s moving me to behave in certain ways and make certain choices. It may be okay, but knowing my wanter is the engine that drives my sin nature means I need to be very honest at those times and be begging God’s presence and strength and protection.

I use the word “beg” because of what James tells us in v15. The wages of sin is still death. “Wanting” may not be bad, but if it is and if I let it work on me, I’m inviting my own death. Sin always brings death. Satan was a murderer from the beginning. Death may be literal and it may be eternal, but in the immediate sense it can show up as destroyed relationships, public disgrace, heartbreaking disappointment – all the different ways we “die” daily. It really, really hurts. I use the word “beg” because no matter what form death may take, I want no part of it. I want to live. That said, I need to practice a holy fear of my own wanter. It may lure me to sin, and since sin = death, I need nothing short of God’s help to save me from it, from myself.

One thing Manton pointed out, which I perhaps haven’t thought about much lately – how thankful we should be that God has actually prevented us from so much sin and death. Manton is so right. Gracious! How many times I would have gladly followed my desires right into the noose but God actually stopped me. When I was young it used to frustrate me that everything seemed to come so easily to so many people, but I kept running into walls. Yikes! Now I realize God was protecting me from myself!

Even now, I am keenly aware that if I were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person, I am quite capable of making some very bad choices and destroying everything I ever cared about. But day after day goes by and I don’t find myself in those situations. Why not? Perhaps I make a few good choices to keep away from trouble but in the end it is God who delivers me.

Yikes! As I think back over my life, it is a miracle I didn’t murder anyone. Literally! I am a very good shot with a rifle and could turn someone’s head into a pink cloud from several hundred yards away. There have certainly been a few people who deserved it and I’d be lying if I said the thought had never crossed my mind. But God very specifically stopped me. I actually know a man who was going to murder his wife but couldn’t find a baby-sitter for the children. Seriously. Years later he came to know Christ and told me it all literally happened that way. God stopped him and saved him from his own madness.

It is a miracle I haven’t fathered illegitimate children all the way from Indiana to New Hampshire, south to Florida and in a few other countries of the world. If the Lord hadn’t frustrated my intentions, I’d have that kind of heartbreak to deal with. I know guys who do. They “succeeded.” But I did not. And now I can only thank God He saves us from our own madness so much of the time.

What an unpleasant subject!!! Sin always seems to look so delicious. But like the bait, it always hides the hook inside. Instead of landing me in a world of pleasure, it ends me up fileted and sizzling away in the devil’s frying pan.

God deliver us from our wanters. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Help me be aware of my wanter. Bring me safe to Heaven’s shore.

James 1:12 – “The Key”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of this verse:

¹²Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial, because having been proven, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those loving Him.

This one verse is so chalk full of truth, a person could write for days on it. Several commentators that I read offered helpful observations from practically every word. A few enduring impressions on my mind: note what a paradox the first phrase is. “Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial…” If this world were all there is, the verse would be nonsense. It would read instead, “Blessed is the man who lives free from any form of suffering.” But, as we learned in vv2-4 and were reminded by the poor man of v9, since our God is in charge, we see our lives through a very different lens. Our great Coach always keeps us in training, making us better than we are, grinding away at the faults and sins that ruin our lives, and helping us become the very people He intended us to be from the beginning. He is absolutely committed to seeing us “win.” Once we really comprehend this (and I feel I’ve only begun), then we can wholeheartedly agree that, “Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial…”

Of course, we don’t receive the “crown” until after we’ve competed. We learned a long time ago from the Savior that you have to wear the crown of thorns first, before there is a crown of gold. That is of course obvious in the athletic world, that the pain of training and striving comes first, but applies as well to our lives as believers. The key as in this verse is to endure, to stay in the race, to keep trying until suddenly we find we’ve crossed the finish line.

I thought it interesting to note as well that, in the Great Race of faith, in a sense we are not competing against each other, but really only against ourselves. As Paul said in I Cor 9:24-27, in this world, “only one gets the prize.” But with heavenly pursuits, my gaining of a crown doesn’t mean someone else fails. Each competes on their own and each will be rewarded in accordance with their own achievements. As in the Parable of the Talents, whether the man earned five or only two, both received the same commendation from the Judge, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant …” In this world, the only way to judge if a man “did his best” is to award the winner. Our Heavenly Judge is a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” and can thus judge everyone totally in accordance with their own abilities and accomplishments. Wouldn’t it be great if there could be an Olympic event where the winner really was the one who tried the hardest? But we humans have not such discernment. But the Lord does!

As I said earlier, there are many more helpful observations that can be drawn from this one verse. They are all available to anyone who’d care to consult any of a number of good Bible commentaries. There was one point from this verse though that struck me most deeply that can be drawn from the final phrase, “ …which the Lord has promised to those loving Him.”

“… to those loving Him.”

Note it is not simply “to those who suffer,” nor is it even “to those who endure suffering.” It is “to those loving Him.” Obviously there is not necessarily any benefit to those who simply suffer. As the old saying goes, “Trials will either make you bitter or better.” But neither does He promise anything to those who endure the suffering. From the “Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial,” one could presume that enduring is the key. However, as Paul warned us in I Cor 13:3, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”  

The crown is not to those who suffer or even to those who endure suffering but rather to those who love Him.

As far back as Deuteronomy 6:5, what was the first and great commandment? “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart …” The promise is all things work together for good “to those who love God.” The crown of righteousness is for “them that love His appearing” (II Tim 4:8)” “But whoever loves God is known by God” (I Cor 8:3). I am amazed to find once again that it all comes down to love. I shouldn’t be. God is love.

I think it actually helpful to learn that the key is not just to endure but to be loving God while we do. That makes sense. As I look ahead, whatever the trials may be, I am not sure I will endure. I don’t know if I can do it, if I’ve got what it takes. Will I have the strength? I don’t know. I fear myself and how easily my heart will succumb to any number of temptations. But what if I just keep trying to love God? Even in that I have no confidence in myself, yet somehow it seems do-able. And somehow my heart likes the idea of making that my goal – to just keep loving God – because, if I’m loving God, I actually think I will endure. Somehow I’ll make it through if I can just keep His lovely face in view, not forget He loves me, not forget His way is best, that He will never give me more than I can bear, that all things are working together for good, that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

¹²Blessed [is the] man who is enduring trial, because having been proven, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those loving Him.