Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

 

Do you like board games?  Monopoly? Candy Land? Parcheesi? I think if James was living now in 2021, he might really appreciate the game Chutes and Ladders.  You know it right?  100 boxes on the game board and as you roll the dice you move along the board with a variety of both long chutes or slides that move you backward on the board AND ladders which you can climb to move ahead on the board.  The goal is to get to the 100th block!  Some of these chutes and ladders are small and you only move a couple of spots either forward or backward.  Some set you back or catapult you forward a bit further.  But do you remember the REALLY big ladder and the really big chute?  I am sure there was as much excitement in your house when someone got to climb the big ladder as there was in mine and just as much disappointment when you landed at the top of that gigantic chute and dropped down on the board- moving farther away from that #100 box at the top.

 

James is telling us in this letter that the Christian life is full of trials and joys- chutes and ladders.  The more time I spent comparing the board game to the words penned by James, the more fun I had. So, hang in there with me…

 

Just like the game, we have an ultimate goal in life- for Christians it is eternal life in heaven with God- wholeness, a right a perfect relationship with God, being reunited with loved ones- block #100- each of us gets there on a different path- and seasons in our lives may feel full of ladders and other seasons are just one chute after another.

 

The big chute doesn’t mean you’ve lost and the big ladder doesn’t mean you’ve won.  You have to keep playing the game!

 

But, what if you get to a big chute, a big step backwards, and you throw the game to the floor, what if you quit and walk away? Or even the opposite- what if you get the big ladder and think- I have won the game!  Guess what, though? The big chute is still ahead. The big ladder gets you to  #84 and the big chute is just ahead on spot #87.  The game goes on until you get to the 100th square.

 

But, is the game of Chutes and Ladders only fun once you get to the top? I don’t think so- there’s a lot of action along the way- there is the collective “YES!” and “OHHH!”, there is laughing and even crying (yes- we did have crying in our house!- you can ask Jacob about that!)  I am sure we have told our children, or our grandchildren, our nieces or nephews or students that there is more to the game than merely winning- we can have fun just playing- have you said those things?

 

That’s what James is saying- there are ups and downs, trials and celebrations but the game moves on- James wants us to be aware that there is always the potential for joy all along the way.

 

Here’s a truth about God- in our lives that mimic Chutes and Ladders- regardless of whether the trial (chute) or the joy (ladder) is big or small- God is playing the game with you and with me and with us- God promises never to leave us or forsake us- God promises to be with us always. In Psalm 139 we read

Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? God is right there cheering us on- whether we are stuck in box #20 or moving ahead in box #82…God is in each box from 1 to 100…on each ladder and on each chute…we don’t have to do this alone!  Whew- that is some good news!

 

And even though that is some amazing truth, we don’t always live our lives in total awareness of God’ presence.  We don’t necessarily see God in every aspect of our lives- I know I have felt like God has abandoned me in some of my darkest times.

 

We watched a lot of the Olympics this summer- I usually love to watch the TV coverage to see the families of the athletes, to see them cheering and encouraging and supporting in the stands or on the race course.  That didn’t happen this year.  Because of the pandemic, the encouragement and the cheering was happening on the other side of the world in many cases.  The athlete couldn’t hear it during the competition, they couldn’t look up into the stands to find their loved ones.  Yet, each athlete that was interviewed after their race or competition said the same thing as they were reunited with their families and friends over an iPad- The athletes said they knew their families were cheering them on even when they couldn’t see them or hear them- over and over again athletes were filled up by the knowledge of encouragement and support of their fans- that is FAITH- the belief that God is present and cheering us on, encouraging us, wanting us to win despite the trials- even when we cannot see or hear God in that moment.

 

James must have recognized that human are motivated by prizes and awards because he tells us that the prize for an unwavering, consistent and persistent faith is the crown of life- the Greek people in James’ time would have pictured a wreath of greenery that was awarded to a winning athlete. But this crown of life prize is not just awarded at the end of the race, James tells us that the prize goes to the person who stands the test, hangs in there- who stays in the games despite the situations- the prize goes to the one who continues to recognize that God is there, that God is faithful, that God is cheering with us when we get to a ladder and grieving with us when we slide down a chute.  Believing that despite our human condition, our prize comes as a result of our FAITH!

 

While touring an empty Nazi prison camp, the following was found scratched into the wall, “I believe in the sun even when it does not shine. I believe in love even when it is not expressed. And I believe in God even when He is silent.”

 

What a powerful example of faith in the times of trial!

 

Through faith we get the crown of life RIGHT NOW- today, tomorrow and next week-  the crown doesn’t go to the person who gets there first -the crown goes to anyone who is on the journey and keeps playing. We are winners when we strengthen our faith, when we remember and lean into God’s promises- We are not in competition with each other to get there first. We just have to move with confidence in our own journey…eventually we will all make it to #100 by the grace of God!  If we have endurance, we can all make it to #100- some have a smoother course , some have more chutes than ladders – James even  says that everyone is subject to the same game- to the same trials- regardless of your physical or material wealth or even of your spiritual or emotional wealth- Trials level the playing field for everyone making all believers equally dependent on God. So, regardless of your wealth or health, you should rejoice that God has the power and is using your poverty or prosperity to keep you humble and reliant on God to make all things good in God’s time. Wonder this with me- what do you think would happen if the Chutes and Ladders game wasn’t over until everyone got to #100- would there be more encouragement, more cheering, more support, more empathy when a chute came up- this is what James is talking about- we are all playing the same game- the life of Christian discipleship- we are all on the same game board- we all have the same goal in mind- everlasting life with God- we will all get there by a different path, but we are all surrounded by the truth of  God’s presence and  God’s encouragement.  Faith is that truth!!!!

 

What about the luck of rolling the dice?  Sometimes life feels like that- things happen beyond our control, both good and bad.  Despite our best efforts and our hope that we will roll a 6 and avoid the big chute, we roll a 5 and we are faced with a trial that we did not expect.  We then have to do our best to hold on and climb back in and make the best of a bad or hard situation.

 

Maybe you are:

 

Raising kids without a parent partner

Overcoming poverty or addiction in your family

Having to work 2 jobs to provide for your children

Struggling with unhealthy habits in your life

Grieving the death of a loved one

 

Maybe you have:

Experienced the backlash of racism, or ageism or ableism or any other ism

Received a frightening diagnosis

Had your job eliminated or reduced because of a global pandemic.

 

James is saying- YUP, these happen and these situations are SUPER hard…but we are not losers, we are not lost, we are not forgotten.  Our faith allows us to say to God, “Sure I want my job back, or a healthy marriage, or a cure for my addiction”, but more importantly, James tell us to ask God for wisdom to know what the next right step is… wisdom to know how to stay in the game…We need faith to ask for that wisdom- faith that God has not forgotten nor forsaken us…faith that God is right there with us…faith that God loves us and works all things for good.  With this faith, we can confidently ask for wisdom and God will give it freely to us.

 

King Solomon provides a perfect example of the power of wisdom.  Solomon is the son of David, the King of Israel.  As Solomon is preparing to assume the throne after David’s death in a country in the midst of civil war and discourse, God comes to him in a dream.  Hear these words from 1 Kings, Chapter 3

 

5 One night while Solomon was in Gibeon, the Lord God appeared to him in a dream and said, “Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you.”

6 Solomon answered:

My father David, your servant, was honest and did what you commanded. You were always loyal to him, and you gave him a son who is now king. 7 Lord God, I’m your servant, and you’ve made me king in my father’s place. But I’m very young and know so little about being a leader. 8 And now I must rule your chosen people, even though there are too many of them to count.

9 Please make me wise and teach me the difference between right and wrong. Then I will know how to rule your people. If you don’t, there is no way I could rule this great nation of yours.

10-11 God said:

Solomon, I’m pleased that you asked for this. You could have asked to live a long time or to be rich. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom to make right decisions. 12 So I’ll make you wiser than anyone who has ever lived or ever will live.

 

I encourage you to read the rest of 1 Kings Chapter 3 for a dramatic example of the wisdom of King Solomon.

 

We all lack wisdom. The Bible does not give specific answers to the innumerable problems that arise in life. It does not solve problems in so many words, but God’s word does give us general principles. We must apply these principles to problems as they arise day by day. That is why we need wisdom. Spiritual wisdom is the practical application of our Lord’s teachings to everyday situations.

 

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you.

Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

 

This word blessed is the same word used in the Beatitudes during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It refers to having inner joy and soul satisfaction.

 

Blessed, joy filled, soul satisfied, is the person who hangs in there, who relies on God, who keeps their eye on the prize of everlasting life with God but also on the prize of walking and living with God each and every ordinary day.  If, in faith, we ask God for wisdom for each new day, God will give it to us- that will make today a better day, a day where we can more aligned with the will of God- a day where we give ourselves a new opportunity to encounter the goodness of God even within the challenges and trials of our daily lives-  We are moving from trials to triumph-What a blessing!

 

To God be the Glory. Amen.

 

 

Benediction:

 

Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

 

I pray as we leave this time of worship, that you find yourself with long ladders and short chutes- but regardless of your place on the game board- regardless of your current situation- I pray that you receive the wisdom that God wants to give freely to those of us who ask in faith.  Faith gives us wisdom.  Wisdom gives us perseverance. And perseverance and endurance are what blesses us today and always with the prize of the crown of life- a life of love, joy and mercy.  Go in peace!