This morning we come to yet another character trait which we need to add to our faith to ensure that we remain fruitful Christians – perseverance. I have long admired William Carey, the Baptist missionary to India towards the end of the 18th and the in the early years of the 19th century. He was a gifted linguist. He translated the entire bible into 6 languages. Then he translated the New Testament into 23 more dialects. If that were not enough, he translated parts of the NT into a further 10 dialects. Tremendous labour. He endured many hardships throughout his missionary career. He was opposed by the British government who were not supportive of missionary enterprise. On the home front he endured the loss of a son to dysentery and his wife Dorothy developed a mental affliction and eventually had to be incarcerated. At one point in his ministry his mission press burned down along with many of the precious manuscripts he had translated. And yet he persevered. Shortly before his death he said the following words to his nephew; “If after my removal anyone should think it worth his while to write my life, I will give you a criterion by which you may judge of its correctness. If he gives me credit for being a plodder he will describe me justly. Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.” Are we learning the same secret? Can we plod?
“ADD TO YOUR SELF-CONTROL . . . PERSEVERANCE”
The Greek word for perseverance is hupomone. It is derived from two words hupo (under) and meno (to remain). Put these words together and we learn that the the beauty of perseverance is an ability to bear up under which literally means, to bear up under. A blacksmith would take a piece of metal and fire it and then place it on the anvil and beat it into shape with a hammer. The metal bore up under the hammer. As Christians in God’s forge we need to learn the grace of enduring through tough times because we know that there is the promise of better times ahead. The Christian trusts what Peter says in 2:9, the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials. The reason we can persevere is that history is heading towards the goal of Christ’s return. As Peter says in 3:14, so then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Perseverance means keeping going until the very end. Peter reminds us that we are surrounded by scoffers who taunt us saying in 3:4, “Where is this ‘coming’” he promised? In James 5:11 this word hupomone occurs twice. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. We are familiar with Job’s trials – his financial reversals, the grief of losing ten children in a single tragic accident, the loss of his own health and ultimately the advice of his wife to curse God and die. How did he bear up under these pressing circumstances? In Job 13:15 he said, “though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” Job’s perseverance is an example to us all. We are urged to add perseverance to our self-control. The Greek philosophers contrasted self-control and perseverance by saying that self-control is concerned with pleasures and perseverance with sorrows. According to Aristotle, “the man who can endure and put up with hardships, he is the real example of perseverance.”
Let us prayerfully seek to generously add perseverance to our faith for it will surely make us exceedingly fruitful.