The return to the original pair of themes (trial and test) makes 1:12 not only a conclusion to the example of lacking wealth but also a summary principle, drawing together the major elements James has been presenting since 1:2. Though I see these as unifying themes in 1:2-12, teachers should examine in their own study the issue of the unity of James's writing. Adamson is one who finds a "sustained unity" in the thought and structure of the entire letter (1976:20). Laws, representing a contrasting view, sees 1:2-12 as "a loose train of thought" (1980:62). As a result, she sees 1:9-11 as introducing a new theme rather than illustrating a continuing theme as I have presented it. She understands James to offer in 1:4 the "achieving of personal integrity" as "apparently an end in itself" (1980:52). She regards 1:12, then, as introducing a new motivation for enduring trials—a future reward instead of a present perfecting of character. I would agree that James envisions a future reward as well as a present perfecting. In my view, however, Laws's handling of the passage as only loosely related thoughts may lead the reader to miss one of the strongest motivations for perseverance in New Testament thinking: the continuity between present perfecting of character and future reward. The New Testament idea is that present growth in holiness culminates in a future sharing of glory with Christ. The teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount again provide the basis (Mt 5:48; 7:15-23). Peter lends parallel explanation of the early Christian leaders' teaching (1 Pet 1:7, 13, 15; 4:13-14; 5:1, 10). And John points to the same reward for Christians in persecution—the crown of life (Rev 2:10). This ultimate sharing of glory with Christ is the vision high enough with which to call people to joy in the midst of terrible trials.

Recall the complete picture now, reviewed in this one verse phrase by phrase.

1. Blessed is the man: This is the reason for the pure joy in 1:2. Believe that you are blessed, truly blessed in reality, in spite of any suffering or trial.

2. who perseveres: James repeats the theme of perseverance in 1:3-4. You are blessed if you continue trusting and obeying as "a servant of God" in spite of trials.

3. under trial: This includes the trials of many kinds recognized in 1:2 and illustrated in 1:5-11.

4. because when he has stood the test: The phrase is hoti dokimos genomenos ("when he has become approved as by a test"). This recalls the use of the noun dokimion in 1:3—the testing of your faith. The diverse trials will make various demands on you, but do not be frightened or deceived. Trust the loving and sovereign God to use the trials as faith-growing tests for you.

5. he will receive the crown of life: Later the Lord would affirm to the church in Smyrna, "I know your afflictions and your poverty," but this would not be his entire message to them. He would also encourage that persecuted church by adding, "Yet you are rich!" In what way could they possibly be called "rich" while knowing poverty, slander, imprisonment and other persecution "even to the point of death"? The Lord's answer would be his promise, "I will give you the crown of life." That promise of the Lord in Revelation 2:9-10 is the kind of encouragement James gives the suffering Christian here, promising with the same phrase that God will give the crown of life.

6. that God has promised to those who love him: The crown of life is not a reward you are gambling for when you choose to persevere in faith. This is no wheel of fortune, in which you will have to wait until later to find out whether perseverance turns out to have been the right way of life. The crown of life is assured by God himself.

James the Just, with his deep moral earnestness, wants to help suffering Christians find the strength to make tough moral choices. He therefore calls us to face the issue of worth. Persevering is worth doing, because the crown of life is worth more than avoiding the trial. James calls for courageous applications of this principle. Giving up on a difficult ministry, retaliating against people who are mistreating you, withdrawing from active participation in worship and fellowship, compromising moral standards, interrupting your life of obedience, turning away from a walk of fellowship with the Lord—all these responses to adversity assume that escaping the trial is of more value than gaining the crown of life. The Christian is called to place greater value on the goal of becoming mature and complete in Christ. With such applications, the Christian life is taken out of the realm of sentimentality and placed in the realm of significant moral choice.

When a Christian's spouse is unfaithful and abandons the marriage, is Christ still worth obeying? When a Christian's financial security is threatened or wrecked, is Christ still worth trusting? When a Christian's physical health is crippled, is Christ still worth adoring? When a Christian's family member is killed, is Christ still worth serving? When a Christian's actions are misunderstood or slandered, is Christ still worth devotion? Even if the Christian loses everything else, is Christ still worth honoring, and is the crown of life still worth the perseverance in faith? The answer is decisively yes!

"Afflictions are but as a dark entry into our Father's house," wrote Thomas Brooks. Christians through the generations of the church have borne testimony to this experience. In the midst of the suffering we are able to see little or no point to it all. So we cry to God, "Why?" Afterward, whether very soon or much later, we find such good resulting from the suffering that we reach the point of being able to say sincerely, "The good I have seen coming out of the trial, especially the benefit of my knowing God far better now, is worth the suffering it took to get me here." Because we value the Lord and his kingdom and the crown of life more than we value ease or comfort, it becomes the choice of realism and wisdom to consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds. "However reluctant we may be to embrace it, we know that suffering rightly received is one of the Christian's supreme means of grace" (Wenham 1974:79).