Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. 13 No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: 17 all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 18 He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
James states that whoever withstands the test and patiently endures trials to the end will be blessed with the crown of eternal life according to God’s promise to those who love Him (Rev. 2:10). Christians should never blame God for trials because temptation originates from their own desires, not from any external influence. God does not lead anyone into sin or wrongdoing or tempt anyone with evil. When we give full assent of our will to temptation, it leads to sin and then to our spiritual death. Every good and perfect gift comes from our eternal and unchanging God whose gifts never diminish. God willed, through His perfect and free gift of regeneration through faith and Baptism, that those who patiently endure trials to the end will be the firstfruits of the human race.
Almighty God, guard our hearts against deception and remind us that you do not tempt us with evil. Help us to remain rooted in your truth so that we can be transformed into the firstfruits of your creation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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