James | Now vs. Forever

Wut up Yardigans!

Last night we talked about James 1:9-12. In these verses James draws a very stark contrast between living with a "now" perspective and living with a "forever" perspective.

We learned that rich or poor, young or old, male or female, we are all made equal in Christ. We saw that persevering under trial is a characteristic of those who truly love God, because trials are the times when what is really in our hearts is seen most clearly. Once we put our faith in Christ our salvation itself is secure, but God gives us the opportunity to earn eternal reward that goes beyond simply getting into Heaven.

For those of you who want to persevere under trial but don't know how to, I challenged you to seek intimate fellowship with God daily and to live in true community with other believers. That means being open and vulnerable about what is really going on in your life.

For those of you who haven't yet decided that it's worth it to persevere under trial, I showed you that James reminds us that there's much more at stake than the life we see. Most of what is going on, we don't see. When standing before Christ one day, I believe that many Christians will regret having wasted time, but no one will ever regret difficult things they endured for Him. What we do here on earth during the years we are given literally determines how we'll live for eternity.

Live each day with eternity in mind, because it is always more than worth it.

I love you all very much. Have a great week!