Relocating To Elfland

For a long time, I have wondered about the connection between James 1:4 and 1:5, and between James 1:5 and 1:6. The exhortation to remain steadfast under the testing of faith (1:3) and to let steadfastness produce mature Christian character (1:4) makes sense. But why the sudden mention of wisdom in verse 5? What is the connection to the preceding verse? And why then the warning that, unless wisdom is asked in faith (1:6), the wisdom so generously promised in verse 5 won’t be forthcoming? Doesn’t this take away with the left hand what the right hand has just given?

James’ line of reasoning is profound, once we understand that wisdom is simply the way of life that flows from faith. Wisdom is the life of faith; it is steadfastly living out of things unseen but nevertheless real. We are told to live steadfastly in the reality that everything we hope for in the life to come is already ours, in principle, by faith. We already enjoy a life of “no condemnation”; the love of God is already shed abroad in our hearts; we already enjoy a common identity and a forgiving love in Christ that can eradicate barriers among men; we already have the ability not to sin; and we are experiencing the gradual renovation, not only of our individual lives, but also of the institutions and structures of human life, through the power of the gospel. We know and can enjoy all of this by faith – we have all the resources for a life of true wisdom in the world – but the difficulty comes, of course, in that the visible evidence is generally to the contrary!

So we cry out to God for wisdom, for the ability to see the world and respond to the world from the standpoint of faith; and God promises to give this to us abundantly, without reproach. But it is not a matter of sitting around waiting for a divine “zap” of wisdom: we are to stir up our faith in the very asking! We are to stir our hearts to believe that God is for us, that He has given us all we need for life and godliness in this world, and will yet give it to us – and behold! as we stir up our faith in this way, by that very means God works in us wisdom. To the extent our faith rises, to that extent we are already on our way to greater wisdom. To ask in unbelief is already to be killing the root system of wisdom; and James by the Spirit wisely points us to that fact. Believe in the grace of God to you, lift up your heart to that blessed reality, and you will never find God to be anything less than all He has promised; He will enable you to see things as they really are, and to live steadfastly – wisely, sanely – in the confidence of His goodness.