Today I'm going to talk about what it means to be mature. Actually Pastor Holly is going to talk about what it means to be mature, as based on the Bible. (She spoke tonight! At Oasis! Yay, I'm finally back in LA!!) But anyways, I am going to paraphrase and pull out what stuck out to me most.
As a person who just turned thirty and has yet to have a stable career, boyfriend, or home, I am constantly faced with the question of, Am I really even a grown up? I know I am, but according to the world's standards, I have not really moved forward that much or succeeded at anything substantial. But I know it's okay, because I do not need to be "conformed to the pattern of this world" (Romans 12:2), but still sometimes I start to get sad or perplexed when I realize I have not met most people's expectations.
So tonight was cool because P. Holly talked about this scripture:
James 1:2-4 - "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."
So basically, the way I get mature in God's eyes (the only eyes that count) is by facing a lot of trials, which I definitely have.
I feel like working at camp this past summer was a huge trial for me because all I really wanted to do was be back in LA already, and I'm not going to lie and say I chose joy all the time because I did not. But even so, it's nice to know that even if all the weird camp things I learned to do have nothing to do with anything I do for the rest of my life, at least I know that that trial helped produce perseverance that is now at work in me, making me mature.
And now I feel very happy to be back in LA, but that doesn't mean I'm not facing trials. I'm still a struggling actress (see: I organize closets for money and have gotten one audition in three weeks). But something Holly talked about is the difference between the Greek word for "happy" and "joy." The word for happy is something that we feel based on some kind of good fortune, i.e. money we are given or some kind of mountain top experience. But God tells us to choose joy, which more directly translates to "good mood of the soul," and that is something you can find only in God, and you take it with you into every circumstance.
This is not a "beginner's virtue," H. says. We have to grow and cultivate it. We have to "grow up," by reading the Bible everyday and using it as our navigation system. We need to spend time with other believers studying the Word and helping each other, and then we will start to experience the fruit of the Holy Spirit, joy (Gal. 5:22).
And joy doesn't mean we aren't sad or we can't cry. Jesus was angry, and he wept. He certainly wasn't happy all the time. But joy comes from an ability to put our trials into God's hands and trust him completely that he is going to use it for good. This is what helps us keep going, just as Jesus, "who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). He knew that his death was going to be the salvation of people, so he did what he was called to do, no matter the cost.
So maybe the fact that you can't find a job or you're struggling with your husband or your kids are crazy, isn't going to be the salvation of people. But maybe your story of how God gave you strength and joy in the midst of it will help someone one day, and actually maybe it will lead to that person's salvation.
One of Holly's examples of a trial was, "Maybe the dream in your heart just seems so far from reality," and I was like, Yep, that's me. Maybe I don't have a dying relative or struggling marriage or cancer or anything, but having a dream in your heart that seems so uneasily attained and almost impossible, is enough to make you lose hope and joy. But this is not how God wants us to live!
Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
God is where real hope and joy come from, not from fluctuating and vanishing circumstances. (Praise Jesus because that would make people really moody, like me, I am totally like that sometimes. Blech.)
But anyways, so Holly's main points were that
1) We need to choose joy. And
2) We need to ask for wisdom.
If you keep reading in James, you will see
James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
So this is the practical part because we may be going through a trial, and we may want to choose joy or be trying to choose joy, but still, how do we know what to do when times get tough and confusing? Well God says to just ask him, and he will give us wisdom. It doesn't say he will give us a booming answer from the clouds (though that would be cool, and who am I to say he wouldn't do that), but it says he will give us wisdom, meaning we can use what we already know and make a Godly decision about it.
Wow. That's pretty cool that God gives that to us. It makes me want to ask him for wisdom more and make decisions more. And you know what else? Making decisions is a helpful way to become an active participator in your life, versus letting life just happen to you, which leads to becoming a lump and can steal your joy.
So in the end, Choose joy. Get wisdom. And let's make some decisions.*
*I was actually seated in a pew tonight that was near the back that had a sign on it that said "Decision Team Seating," which is weird but is also why I've been thinking about it and why I added it as sort of a third point.
