Trials
James 1
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.
13
When
tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14
but
each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and
enticed.
It is very easy to give up and often difficult to persevere. When Satan is tempting us, however, we should not give into his evil schemes, but rather persevere for God’s glory. This may be difficult at times. It may be difficult to praise God when you are sick, when nothing seems to be going right/good for you, when your friends do not, when your family fights, and when you are made fun of. To put it differently, it may be difficult to praise God when you are persecuted for your faith.
I know it is not fun to be persecuted and I understand that perseverance is not always easy. Although, when I consider the benefits I gain from loving God, it makes living my Christian faith seem easy.
As a Christian, I try my best to live my life by two fundamental Christian standards: (1) love God (2) love people. I live this way because I know it will grant me eternal life in Heaven.
25
On
one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher,"
he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26
"What
is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27
He
answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, `Love your neighbor
as yourself."
28
"You
have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will
live."
29
But
he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my
neighbor?"
30
In
reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from
31
A
priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side.
32
So
too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other
side.
33
But
a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took
pity on him.
34
He
went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the
man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
35
The
next day he took out two silver coins [5] and gave
them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,' he said, `and when I return, I will
reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
36
"Which
of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands
of robbers?"
37
The
expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told
him, "Go and do likewise."