GOD’S PRODUCT
James
1:2-4
Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know
that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness
have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Everyone comes to supper on time
when my wife cooks the food in the crock-pot. It doesn’t matter what she’s
fixed for us to eat. It’s always good. There’s something about slow cooking an
seasoning that makes roasts, chicken, stews and other dishes delicious. Time
along with heat, steam and pressure makes food tender and scrumptious.
It seems that our world wants
crock-pot quality in microwave time. Think about it – all of us want something
quick to fix that tastes delicious and that’s nutritious to eat. But we want it
now at all costs. If you don’t believe me, check out the frozen food section of
your grocery store. Many foods are already prepared and cooked. All you have to
do is nuke it in the microwave for a couple of minutes and voila! It’s done.
God doesn’t work on the microwave
timetable. His product comes on a crock-pot schedule. It takes time to build
Christ-likeness and perseverance in the Christian life. These qualities don’t
come overnight. They develop through testing, trial and time.
When life’s pressure cooker is
turned on in our lives, it’s hard to see the befits at the end of the road. Yet
it’s important to know that all the biblical values that God wants to build in
us (hope, joy, peace, faith, love, etc.) add up to one great product – maturity
in Christ. The Lord wants us to be whole and complete, not lacking anything
(James 1:4). His purpose in trials is to take us through his process so that
his product will come. So if you sense that you’re in God’s crock-pot today,
ask yourself, “What’s the Lord cooking inside me?” Whatever it is, it’s going
to be rich, tender and good!
