The fictional conversation continues as we discuss James 1:5-8.
The fictional conversation continues as we discuss James 1:5-8.
Welcome to James and Me, Episode 2, Wisdom.
Today our conversationalists (Bible translations) are:
J.B.— (J. B. Phillips translation)
Amp (Amplified version)
ASW (A.S. Worell New Testament)
Bill (William Barclay translation)
Will, The Williams Translation, The Time Line New Testament, edited by Leonard Hoffman
Special guests,
Richard Bauckham, author of James (New Testament Readings), published by Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
T. Austin Sparks, The School of Christ. Austin-Sparks.Net. Kindle Edition.
*
Following ASW’s gem: “Patience: the power of endurance without complaint,”[1] that moved me,
James continued, saying, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5 KJV).
Here, we are talking about joy, trials, patience, and maturity when James seems to have introduced a brand-new topic in our conversation—wisdom—out of thin air! The change in our conversational framework caught me off guard, to say the least.
Sensing my surprise, Richard leaned over and shared,
“More than any other New Testament writer, James is a teacher in the style of Jesus, a creative exponent of the wisdom of Jesus, a disciple who, ‘having been fully trained’ in his teacher’s wisdom, has become himself a teacher of wisdom ‘like his teacher’ (Luke 6:40).”[2]
T. Austin picked up the thought and shared in my other ear about the “otherness of Christ” that needed to be understood if wisdom was to be garnered.
“… How altogether other He [Christ] is from ourselves. Taking the disciples who went into His school…the first thing they learned was how other He was from themselves. They had to learn it. I do not think it came to them at the first moment. It was as they went on that they found themselves again and again clashing with His thoughts, His mind, His ways. They would urge Him to take a certain course, to do certain things, to go to certain places; they would seek to bring to bear upon Him their own judgments and their own feelings and their own ideas. But He would have none of it. At the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, His own mother, with an idea, said, They have no wine.”[3]
J.B., who I thought was not in earshot of our conversation, interjected and added to the otherness of Christ when Jesus responded to Mary’s exclamation of having no wine:
“Is that your concern, or mine, Mother?” replied Jesus.[4]
Wow, okay, I thought, as my dim bulb of understanding began to brighten just a bit. I can’t expect James’ letter to be a homiletic masterpiece, sermonized with successive points, each beginning with the same letter. His teaching pattern was Jesus, and the otherness that Jesus is will be witnessed in James’ teaching.
Sometimes, it may connect seamlessly, sometimes not, and sometimes, it can be a vague connection that launches a new principle. The key for me is to not yolk James’ words with my concerns, but his; I need to remember J.B.’s translation about no wine when Jesus said, “Is that your concern, or mine?”
I must learn to first hear through Wisdom’s concern and then (as I learned last week) ask intently, “Is it to me; Is it about me?”
I made a mental note to take that to the mirror.
*
All but one of our conversationalists held to the vague connection appeal in James' statement on wisdom, as it followed up on patience in trials. However, J.B. made the seamless connection:
“And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem, he only has to ask God…” (verse 5), he said.
I think J.B.’s words put a practical picture in mind of the universal truth in the privilege of asking God. Yet, if we constantly ask, “Why is this happening to me,” the point of endurance through patience is abandoned. The “how” and “what” questions would serve us best, rather than “why”: “How is the best way to handle this?” and “What am I to learn from this?”
Or, as ASW said, “To make the most of one’s opportunities, and do the best thing, at all times.”[5]
As to God’s goodness to give wisdom, I found both Bill and Will’s comments encouraging and enlightening:
“It is characteristic of God to give generously and ungrudgingly to all” (Barclay said);
“But if any one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of God, who generously gives to everyone without finding fault” (Williams added).
Those two comments—characteristic of God and without finding fault—should eliminate any hesitation when it comes to making my petition known to the Lord.
Then, James produced the caveat in asking God: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:6 KJV).
Even with the strength in embracing God’s characteristic to give generously and Him finding no fault, the possibility of allowing doubt to creep in exists.
But Amp helped me understand the caveat better:
“Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting)…” (v. 6).
To avoid wavering when a trial crowds into my life, I need to ask for wisdom quickly, without hesitation, and with no doubt because He is with me in the trial.
Amp’s illustration added to my insight:
“For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind” (v. 6).
Though I recognized the illustration was that of the waves, it brought to mind when the disciples were in their boat, being tossed to and fro, and fearing death, they went to Jesus, who was asleep in the stern, with the well-known exclamation, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). After rebuking the wind and calming the sea, the Lord asked why did they doubt.
For me, the key to understanding that reproof was in Jesus’ words at the very beginning of the trip, “Let us pass over unto the other side” (v. 35). The fact that Jesus stated the destination meant it would happen regardless of the trials from one side of the short to the other. So, too, is it when trials crowd into our lives. We are going to the other side and we will not perish!
Another spontaneous and immediate time with the mirror. That was the practice on this day.
*
But it was quickly interrupted by James, as he dropped a biblical principle rooted in asking by unwavering faith: “For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7-8 KJV).
A reflecting hush fell over us all.
Amp cut through the silence with a knife of clarity,
“[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]” (v. 8).
My mind began to race around the oval of this thought as I was half listening to the conversation and half looking into the mirror. (I hope that practice isn’t a precursor to double-mindedness, I mused with a hidden grin.)
As I looked into my mirror, was a “volte-face” staring back at me? A face that changed with my situations, circumstances, or who was in the room with me? Is that what the Lord’s brother was saying to me? Am I one that changes like the springtime weather?
ASW made it more profound when he added:
“A double-souled man is unstable in all his ways.”[6]
Ah, I understand better now! The externals may sway me; after all, Simon Peter had to be reproved by Paul about Gentile brethren fellowship following the Jerusalem council. But that doesn’t automatically make me a double-minded man.
When my soul is steadfast with the Word, I will ask in faith, believing, and reaching beyond any possible external impacts. My soul is set only on Him and I can ask through that faith, without contrary desires.
That is wisdom’s foundation.
Thank you for joining me today and I will see you next week. Until then, remember it’s not vanity to always check the mirror when you are looking to see Jesus in you!
[1] A.S. Worrell, The Worrell New Testament (Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1980). Page 340.
[2] Bauckham, Richard. James (New Testament Readings) (p. 50). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
[3] Austin-Sparks, T.; Austin-Sparks, Theodore. The School of Christ . Austin-Sparks.Net. Kindle Edition.
[4] J. B Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English (New York: Inspirational Press, 1995). Page 183.
[5] Worrell, Page 340.
[6] A.S. Worrell, The Worrell New Testament (Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1980). Page 340.