At the end of 1:1 James tells the recipients of his Epistle to rejoice. The word “rejoice” is a translation of the Greek word chairein, which means to be happy, rejoice, hail; it was a word used for greeting or farewell.
The subject of the Epistle of James is practical Christian perfection. James writes not merely concerning Christian perfection, but concerning practical Christian perfection, that is, a perfection that is not theoretical but practical in our daily living. It is a strong point of this Epistle that James teaches regarding this practical Christian perfection. The many virtues he covers in this book are related to this perfection. In 1:2 James begins to present these virtues to us.
In 1:2 James says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, whenever you fall into various trials.” Here we see that the first virtue related to practical Christian perfection covered by James is that of enduring trials by faith.
The entire world lies in the evil one, Satan (1 John 5:19). Satan opposes God continually in every possible way. Satan is displeased whenever people turn to God, and he will not tolerate this. Once a person turns to God, Satan will instigate others to persecute that one. Paul once said that we Christians are appointed to suffer persecution (Phil. 1:29). Persecution, therefore, is the portion appointed to us as believers in Christ. Hence, the first aspect of practical Christian perfection is to endure trials, a word that includes persecution.
Persecution is a suffering. However, trials are not merely a suffering, for trials are a suffering that serves the purpose of trying or proving us. We may use final examinations in school as an illustration. Students know that final examinations can be a real suffering and trial. But such a trial is actually a help to the students. If there were no final examinations in school, the students would probably be careless concerning their studies. But when they know that a final examination is coming, they concentrate on their studies with much diligence. Therefore, a final examination helps a student learn the necessary material. For this reason, the parents of those who are students should be grateful for the final examinations, knowing that this helps their children to profit from their education.
There are also “finals” and other kinds of “examinations” in the “school of spiritual education.” The “principal” of this school is our heavenly Father. He has arranged different trials for us, different examinations. All these trials are good for us. Just as examinations are good for students, so the various trials we face as Christians are a profit to us.
Perhaps after you believed in the Lord Jesus, you thought that in the Christian life there would be no sufferings or trials. You may have said to yourself, “I fear God, I love the Lord Jesus, and I am a child of God. Surely God loves me, and He will not allow anything bad to happen to me.” This is the concept of many believers. But eventually trials come. One kind of trial is opposition from family and friends. Such a trial is more than mere persecution. Persecution accomplishes the purpose of the persecutor, but trials are used by God to accomplish His purpose. Someone may persecute you, but God uses that persecution as a trial to test you, to prove you.
A final examination serves the threefold purpose of trying, testing, and proving a student. Likewise, the various trials through which we must pass as believers serve the purpose of trying, testing, and proving us. These trials are surely a help in our practical Christian perfection, for God uses them to perfect us.
God uses trials to perfect us. If we see this, we shall thank God for perfecting us through trials. Trials not only help us in the matters of our spiritual education and the experience of life, but also help us with our character and our behavior in our daily living. Before you believed in the Lord, you may have been like a wild lion. But after a period of time of trial, the “lion” has been tamed. I can testify that God has used trials to “tame” me and thereby to perfect me in a practical way in my Christian life.
In 1:2 James even encourages us to “count it all joy” whenever we fall into various trials. The reason we can count it a joy when we fall into trials is that these trials perfect us. Notice that in 1:2 James speaks not only of trials but of “various trials.” This indicates that we should count all trials a joy, not just certain trials. On the one hand, we do not like trials, opposition, and persecution. But on the other hand we should count it all joy when we experience such things because God uses them to perfect us.