James 1:1-12

            {Prayer}

            John, Michael, and Wendy, Tinker Bell and Captain Hook … it all happened in a place called Never Never Land. Walt Disney’s story of Peter Pan is about a boy who simply refuses to grow up. Wishing to escape the responsibilities of adulting, Peter Pan was determined to remain eternally young and carefree in Never Never Land. There’s something rather attractive about this playful approach to life. It offers the joys of childhood without the responsibility of living as an adult.

            Dan Kiley wrote a book entitled, “The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up.” In the book he details the dilemma of men who, quote, “Are caught in the abyss between the men they didn’t want to become and the boy they can no longer be.”

            The book of James is a frontal attack against the Peter Pan syndrome of refusing to grow up. James is all about growing up and maturing in Christ. In fact, seven times in five chapters James uses the Greek word telios. Telios means to be complete, maximized and mature. You see, James has a passion to see Christians renounce the Peter Pan syndrome and embrace spiritual maturity.

            But what exactly is Christian maturity? Maturity is not an age. I loved it when Toys R Us was still in business. There was always something there that I could buy, even as an adult. Which, according to their little jingle, “I don’t wanna grow up, cause baby if I did, I couldn’t be a Toys R Us kid. I wanna be a Toys R Us Kid. We’ve all seen 50, 60, 70-year-old Christians who are spiritual infants, lacking commitment and depth. Christian maturity has nothing to do with age.

            It also has nothing to do with appearance. Have you ever noticed that some people just look more spiritual than the rest of us? Maybe it’s how they act or that they have a bit of grey on the sides. They just look mature!

            Maturity also has nothing do with achievement. Just because I’ve achieved a certain position in a church doesn’t mean I’m a mature Christian. You can be an elder, a teacher, apart of a Bible Study group, or even a pastor, but still be immature in your faith.

            Academics also has nothing to do with Christian maturity. Even though I went to Seminary and I put in my time to earn my degree, doesn’t mean that I’m a mature Christian. Sure, I may know some extra things, but that has nothing to do with Christian maturity.

            Appearance, achievement and academics … they have nothing to do with Christian maturity, but you know what does? Attitude. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). This is the first command in James. James has lots of commands, 59 of them to be exact. Fifty-nine times James commands us to grow up in Christ.

            James begins with the command “consider” because a mature attitude is the key to mature speech and mature action. It all begins with our attitude. In fact, in the first 27 verses of James, there are 17 terms related to our attitude.

            In 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada dove into the Chesapeake Bay. Having misjudged the depth of the water, she emerged as a quadriplegic. She is bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. In spite of this, Joni has learned to paint with her teeth and has written over 40 books.

            In one of the books she writes, “I hope I can take my wheelchair to heaven with me. I know that’s not biblically correct, but if I were able, I would have my wheelchair up in heaven when God gives me my brand new body. Then I will turn to Jesus and say, ‘Lord, the weaker I was in that wheelchair, the harder I leaned on You. And the harder I leaned on You, the stronger I discovered You to be. So thank You for what You did in my life through that wheelchair. And now Jesus,’ I’ll say with a big grin on my face, ‘you can send that wheelchair to hell.’”

            That is what it means to “consider it pure joy…when you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Joni didn’t find joy in the accident itself or in her suffering, but in what God accomplished through it. Her attitude reflects the joy that comes from knowing God is at work, even in the hardest moments of our lives.

            Joy in trials doesn’t mean we celebrate pain; it means we trust the purpose behind it. Like Joni, we can look at the challenges we face and see how they draw us closer to Christ, refine our faith, and reveal His strength in our weakness.

            But let’s be honest … those trials are not optional. Problems are inevitable. This is why James says “if” you encounter problems, but “when”. They are not electives we can skip but a required course in life. James reminds us that difficulties will come, and we can’t avoid them. Whether it’s a sudden health crisis, like Joni’s accident, or the everyday struggles of life, trials will show up uninvited.

            Problems are unpredictable. James says, “whenever you face trials”. The word for face in the Greek means fall into unexpectedly. This is the same word used in Luke 10:30 to describe the man who unexpectedly falls among thieves. If I have a mature attitude, I don’t get all bent out of shape when things don’t go my way.

            Problems are variable. “whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Jessica asked me one day while I was in Mt. Vernon to stop by Hobby Lobby and pick up some “stickers and red and green paint pens.” Do you know how many kinds of Christmas stickers they have and how many different kinds, sizes, and colors of red and green paint pens there are? I ended up asking about 20 questions and texting her 7 different pictures to make sure I got the right ones. This expression, “many kinds” in the Greek can mean, “many colors.” Some problems are green. They deal with money. Others are gray. It’s winter. Other problems are red. Someone is angry. Some are black. They deal with death.

            Problems are purposeful. “Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you be me mature (teleios) and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4).

            When a baby giraffe is born, it falls ten feet to the ground and lands on its back. Within seconds, he rolls over into an upright position and stands up. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a look, then she swings her long leg and kicks her baby, sending it sprawling head over heels. And if the baby doesn’t get up, she kicks it again.

            Why? Well, lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild dogs all enjoy a good, young giraffe as a meal. And they’d get that meal if the mother didn’t teach her baby to get up quickly and get on with it. Getting kicked around has a purpose.

This is what James is talking about when he says, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4). Just as the mother giraffe’s actions prepare her baby to survive predators, God uses trials to prepare us for challenges in life and faith. Without those “kicks” from life, we’d be unprepared to persevere.

God doesn’t allow trials into our lives to harm us but to shape us—to help us grow stronger, more resilient, and more reliant on Him. Just like the baby giraffe needs to learn quickly how to stand and run to survive, God uses these moments to ensure we are spiritually ready to face whatever comes. As James tells us, trials have a purpose: they work to make us mature and complete, not lacking anything.

            That’s why I can say this with complete confidence. … Everything that has enhanced and enlightened my life, has been through bad times and not the good; through darkness and not light; through hurt and not happiness.; through pain and not prosperity. Now, what do I mean by this?

Well, when life kicks me down … I pray harder, I dig into scripture more eagerly. When I’m in hell and high water I realize that I’m not in charge so I stay humble, which is always a very good thing. Being frustrated and depressed helps me sympathize with people when they are frustrated and depressed.

            Frequently, my goal in life is to be happy. God’s goal though is to make me holy. God wants me to be mature and to grow up. And the only way that happens … is to get kicked around. Problems are purposeful. They come so that we may be mature (teleios) and complete, not lacking anything.

            You see, Jesus loves us right were we are. He comes down to us as a baby in a manger and He keeps going down until, finally, He gets so low that He’s a rejected teacher on a rugged Roman cross. Jesus loves us right where we are. But Jesus loves us too much to let us stay there. Resurrected, ascended, and living within us, Jesus leads us through life and into eternity.e’HHe’

            The truth of the day … I can be bitter or better. Immature people get bitter most of the time. Maturing people consider it pure joy because come what may, they are convinced that God loves them and that God is at work in their lives and that God’s goal is not to make them happy, but holy. Come what may this New Year, we will refuse to be bitter but will become much, much, much … better. Amen.

            The peace of God, that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.