We have been reflecting this week about this passage in James:

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2–4

Near the end of this passage is the desire that we may be “mature and complete.” The original Greek word translated “mature” is τέλειος (teleios), an adjective derived from the word telos, which means aim or goal. So a person who is “teleios” in life is one who has progressed to the point of reaching the goal or the point of it all. Many people imagine that religion is a matter of simply believing in God, observing a few traditional religious practices, and otherwise going about one’s daily business. James offers a very different picture of the life of faith – that it is a journey toward a great spiritual goal. This implies that God intends for us to make spiritual progress! As we have noted over the past few days, James suggests that our experience of trying times may be the setting that prompts us to make such progress. The goal is to share fully in God’s purpose for our lives, so that we become spiritually “mature and complete.” This is how trials may become a “joy” – when we grow through them to more fully become the people God is calling us to be.

Prayer – Guide us, O Lord, to grow through trials toward spiritual wholeness. Click To Tweet

If you missed Sunday worship, you can join with the recorded service of either the 9:30 or 10:30 worship hours at live.kentmethodist.org

About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.