Reserving Judgment
Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
James 1:2-3
An old Chinese legend is told about how, many years ago, there lived an old man along with his son and a horse. Back in those days, having a horse would be like owning a car in our day – very valuable.
One morning, when the man went to the pasture to feed the horse, he discovered that the animal was gone. He searched high and low to no avail. His neighbors in the village said, “What bad luck to lose a horse!”
But the old man smiled and shrugged and said, "Good luck or bad luck, who’s to say? The horse is gone, and we’ll leave it at that.” The people thought the old man strange to respond in such a way, and wondered, “How could losing a horse not be a bad thing?”
A couple of days later, the horse returned and brought with it a beautiful mare. The people of the village said, “You were right. Not only was your horse not stolen, it brought you another horse. How lucky you are!”
But the old man smiled and shrugged and said, “Good luck or bad luck, who’s to say? It’s not always a good thing to have another horse. Now I have two horses, and we’ll leave it at that.” His neighbors frowned and shook their heads. “How could it not be a good thing to get another horse for free?”
The next day the old man’s son, while trying to break in the new horse, fell off and broke his leg. When the neighbors learned of the incident, they said, “You’re right. Since the new horse caused your son to break his leg, maybe it wasn’t exactly a good thing to get another horse. In fact, you might say it was unlucky for you that another horse showed up.”
The old man smiled and shrugged and said, “Good luck or bad luck, who’s to say? My son fell off and broke his leg, and we’ll leave it at that.”
Shortly thereafter, war broke out and a government official came into town.
He conscripted all the able-bodied young men to go and fight. However, the old man’s son was made exempt because of his broken leg. “Good luck or bad, who’s to say?” the neighbors said. And the old man smiled and shrugged.
When Trials Hit
I think the writer of the New Testament book of James would have liked that story. For example, he began his letter with, “Consider it pure joy when you endure trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance
To be sure, no trials are welcomed at the time. Often, they are quite perplexing and can be very painful. Yet the believer can be confident that each and every one of them passed through the filter of God’s sovereign will.
And in the end, the stretching of one’s spiritual muscles will result in a whole new level of strength and capacity – something that all of us desire.
The stretching of one’s spiritual muscles will result in a whole new level of strength and capacity.
So follow the lead of the old man in the story. When a trial hits, reserve judgment. What appears to be “bad luck” could in fact be “good luck.” Who’s to say?
PRAYER
Lord, I have to admit that though I long to grow stronger in my faith, I don’t want to pay the price for that to happen. I’m grateful that You’re so committed to my maturity that You allow trials anyway. Help me to reserve judgment when they hit and even count it all joy, knowing that it was never really luck at all.
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