What would you rather have?
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
What would you rather have? Painful trials and challenges? Or fulfilment, peace and purpose.
Using the concept of Holokleros, James suggests that it's not a question of choosing between two options; but of walking through one to arrive at the other.
The greek word Holokleros which is translated "complete" literally means "the whole allotment"; "the complete package". The root word kleros refers to a personal allotment - a homestead in the promised land. So “holo-kleros” refers to someone who has fully cultivated their allotment; built a rounded, fruitful, purpose-filled and peaceful life in a stable kingdom. It's a similar word to the Hebrew "Shalom" which signifies a state of total peace and wholeness in all things.
How do we achieve this? How do we complete our destiny; cultivate our lot in life so that it develops into a fully fruit-icious state?
According to James, there’s only one route to fulfilment and purpose in God's economy; and that is the route of persevering through trials, pain, temptations & challenges.
So it's not a case of choosing between peace and pain as alternatives; instead we must choose to walk through the pain, with perseverance, in order to reach the promised greater peace of holokleros/shalom beyond. And this is not a purely psychological process.
It seems persevering endurance has to be an act of faith. Faith in a God who promises, who rewards, who responds to us with generosity in the end – despite, or perhaps because of, the pain of now.
For me this week, it means facing the people I had an argument with last month instead of conveniently finding something else more important to do.
Created almost 2 years ago
