James 1:2-4 2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (NLT)
What if you could be perfect. I’m a movie buff. One of my favorites is the movie “Remember the Titans”. In one scene coach Boone walks in and tells his team… “We will be perfect in every aspect of the game. You drop a pass, you run a mile. You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile. You fumble the football, and i will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts and then you will run a mile. Perfection. Let's go to work.” Coach Boone was smart enough to know that there was no way his team was going to be perfect, but he also knew that with every mistake, they could work on one of the most fundamental aspects of the game. Endurance. The book of James starts off by telling us to look forward to problems. What??? This guy’s crazy. That’s the way I look at it sometimes. Allow me to put James 1 verses two through 4 in a cross section of Coach Boone’s and my words. “Guys, ladies, consider it a good thing when you fumble. Because when you fumble you’re gonna get the chance to work on your endurance (run a mile). And if your endurance continues to grow, you will be unstoppable.” The trouble is that many of us don’t want our endurance to grow because that’s the part that hurts. I have two daughters so the movie Frozen comes to mind as I read verse four. “Let it grow, Let it grow, can’t hold it back any more. Ok, ok, bad example. However, that’s exactly what you need to do. The next time you approach what looks to be the largest problem you’ve faced, let it grow. Allow your endurance to grow. The following time after allowing God to grow that endurance in you won’t be near as difficult. Now you’re on your way to perfection.