The James Experiement: Day 5- James 5

Finally the Finale!

Major Themes: Worldly gains are irrelevant, be patient, be prayerful

Action: Being patient, thinking about what is really important

Lessons Learned: VERY few people knew about the week as it was occuring. My friends who did were messing with me saying, “Traci, gosh traffic is really slow.” And me responding with “Isn’t this such a great opportunity for quality time? I’m so glad that traffic is going 4 mph!” Hilarious.

But the original intent of Day 5 was to tie up the James Experiment through describing the relationship between patience, faith, and trust in the midst of our puzzling, unknown futures. Unsatisfactorily, it resulted in vague Christian clichés like “Cling to the Cross” and “Give it to God.” Maybe it’s just me, but what do those actually mean? I’ve read James 5 about 20 times in an attempt to connect it all, but honestly, “In your ocean I’m ankle deep.” –NeedToBreathe.

The last several weeks have instead taken me extremely far from James 5. Lately, the study of God’s Word has nullified my ability to simply correlate the over exaggerated Biblical lesson-of-the-day with the 2010 application, and brought forward the reality that God cannot be reduced to a 1 page blog, a 24 year old’s thoughts, or a ridiculous, 5 day investigation. I am moving toward the place where all that matters is “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” –Revelation 4:8.

When observant, almost everything from the brightness of a starry night in Aspen to the hugs of 1st graders (elementary sub=opportunity to practice patience) brings out the truth in Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This reminds me of just how BIG God is, and how minute I am. It’s quite humorous what I think I have figured out, when in actuality my perception of life is so narrow compared to someone just 10 years older. What makes me think I can even attempt to understand the Lord? “He (Christ) is the Beyond-in-our-midst, and though in our midst, still beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine. Jesus Christ will always be a scandal to the murky, immodest theory-making of the intelligentsia, because he cannot be comprehended by the rational, scientific, and finite mind.” –Ruthless Trust, pg 55. My mind clearly is scientific, and I must comprehend everything. Concepts need to make reasonable sense, be explainable, and of course answer my favorite questions of why & how. However, the philosophical statement of “the Bible is beyond logic” challenged my haughty expectations. Zophar (Job’s friend giving horrible advice) actually makes a legitimate point in saying “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” –Job 11:7. No, we can’t. And we should value that.

In the book “Crazy Love,” Francis Chan addresses the magnitude of God. I loaned out the book, so I am unable to quote it exactly, but my thoughts mixed with Chan’s insight produce something like this: How could we worship, surrender to, and be completely in awe of a comprehendible, tangible God? I couldn’t. Knowing that I probably have a paradigm shift weekly, how great could a God be that is fully understandable at any lifestage? Rather than worshiping an explainable God that we incongruously personify and project our concepts of human characteristics on, we instead rest in the God of the Scripture, the God of Abraham, of David, of Paul, of Peter. I CAN be completely enamored with a God who is mysterious, captivating, and unfathomable; a God of unending anonymity yet unexplainably near. “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” –Deuteronomy 10:17. He is a God “full of compassion and mercy.” -James 5:11. And He is a God who has measured the waters in the hallow of his hand, and marked off the heavens with the breadth of his hand. He has held the dust of the earth in a basket, and weighed the mountains on scales… The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. -Isaiah 40:12,28 (paraphrased).

God is a God beyond all understanding, and that quality alone makes Him more than worthy of our praise, adoration, and unending search to know Him.