Steadfastness and Maturity
I got going early this morning and attended the Larimer County Republican breakfast. It was good to meet some new people and to hear a guest from Australia talk about how their country faced the challenges of illegal immigration.
This weekend when we were in Lakewood we stayed with Mary Doherty at her lovely home out in the Trailmark area of south Jefferson County. Some of the homes in this area represented the southern most point of Senate District 22, the seat I ran for in 2012. In spite of her busy schedule and international travel as a geologist, last year Mary made several trips to Fort Collins to work on our yard and house and tend to things that needed attention. Our connection goes back to when Mary and her family attended Dakota Ridge Assembly and when her now adult son was just a preschoolers. (picture Mary and me on her deck)
Mary along with a former high school classmate Debbie Proctor, our former renter Bill Hutchinson and friend Kathleen Talkington were those who helped behind the scenes last summer and were such a blessing to Debbie and allowed her to be with me at the hospital knowing the “home front” was being taken care of.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “And let steadfastness [patience] have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:4 (ESV)
As I was reading again this verse from James and the one before about the trying of our faith, it caught my attention in a new way. First of all I noted that the English Standard Version (ESV) uses the word steadfastness instead of patience. For some reason the impact of that was even greater.
We read consistently of the “steadfast love of the Lord.” So I identify steadfastness with God’s character. Also, for me “patience” tends to be a “biding of my time.” The picture that comes to mind is just waiting, relaxing, perhaps a twiddling of the thumbs kind of patience. Steadfastness communicates more of a grit your jaw, stand your ground, stubborn determination. Certainly that is what James is communicating to these first century believers and to us today.
The trying of our faith produces not passive consignment to God’s will, but a strong determination and confidence that means we are going to “hang in there.” Steadfastness is a character quality that grows and is developed. As it works its way through our life, it helps us to be mature and complete in our faith.
As people ask me about my recovery, I let them know that I am anticipating a full recovery. However, in the midst of the rebuilding of muscles it takes time and that requires patience, or being steadfast in hope, steadfast in faith, steadfast in the discipline of exercise and anything else that will enable me to make progress and reach my ultimate goal.
For some reason, I believe this applies to all of us at some point in our life. Whether it is a professional goal, a goal for our family or our spiritual life. As James say, “let steadfastness have its full effect…” It doesn’t happen with one test or trial, but over time you grow stronger and are prepared for the next challenge. And James says we can even do that with joy! (James 1:2,3)