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James 1:4
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Not surprisingly, it takes time for perseverance to grow us in maturity and strength, and James is urging us, “Don’t quit!” In order to cultivate endurance, we must keep going. It’s not possible to increase stamina by stopping. Have you seen the movie, Finding Dory? My favorite line is when Dory is singing, “Just keep swimming, just keeping swimming…” We just gotta keep on keeping on. But thankfully we don’t have to do it in our strength. We can and should ask God to sustain us through the Holy Spirit.
The Greek word for perseverance in this verse is hypomone, and one of its meanings includes “a patient, steadfast waiting for.”[1] No one likes to learn patience, but it is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). We must patiently wait on the Lord to refine us and walk with us through life’s challenges. That’s a lot easier said than done. When reading this verse in James, it brings to mind Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Until we see the Lord face to face, we will be a work in progress, but in His presence, we will be made perfectly complete.
Depending on the translation you’re using, sometimes the word “mature” is translated as “perfect.” As a recovering perfectionist, seeing the word “perfect” in Scripture always makes me pause. Perfection is an impossible standard in our sinful human nature. So, to gain some clarity, let’s dig a little deeper and take a look at the original Greek word used here, which is teleios. In the Blue Letter Bible, its first Bible usage is listed as “brought to its end, finished.”[2]
Teleios indicates our end-state. We will be made complete in Christ. It’s not up to us to make ourselves perfect. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are declared righteous. We are only made perfect because of His grace. So, until we go home to be with the Lord, just like James implores, we are to keep on enduring, through Him and for Him.
[1] G5281 – hypomonē – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5281/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/
[2] G5046 – teleios – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (nasb20). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5046/nasb20/mgnt/0-1/
Heather L. Myers 