From Fall of 2010

Two weeks ago I mentioned Cam’s football team. Last week I talked about the purpose of trials in our lives (growth and spiritual maturity) as stated in James 1:3-4 “the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete.” But something Cam said recently made me realize another purpose of our trials.

After they won the league championship game a few weeks ago Cam said “this year wasn’t as fun as last year.”

I believe he felt that way for two reasons. One, there is nothing quite like winning a championship for the first time. But there is another reason, a bigger reason. During the first season the team experienced adversity. The lost a game, they trailed in several games and they were the underdogs in the championship game. In fact the team they played in the championship game beat them during the regular season by 2 TDs.

During this second season they never trailed in any game at any time. They outscored their opponents by almost 200 points. Their starting defense allowed 1 TD the entire season. They never faced adversity so winning the 2nd championship was not as satisfying as the 1st .

I think this is true in life in general. We appreciate the good times even more if we have to face adversity to get there. In addition Thessalonians 3:3 says “that no one would be unsettled by these trials . For you know quite well that we are destined for them.”

So not only do we grow through trials, but we are destined for them and we should embrace them in order to fully appreciate the good times, the victories in life.

In His Service,

Ed