I intend to follow Jesus. I intend to obey Him and follow His commandments. In fact, I have a lot of intentions; things I plan or aim to do. I aim to love Him and others. But, do I actually do the things that I intend to do?

There are two phrases that pop up in my head a lot.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I seem to remember my mom saying this first one, but I can’t be sure. Even though it is an old saying, I’ll give her credit for passing on this wisdom to me. I often say or sing in church that I will follow Jesus and obey his commands. People can claim that they will do or want to be all kinds of things. I can say that I am generous, or protective, or will fight for what is right. But if we don’t do them when the situation presents itself, we actually prove ourselves not to be those things and no more a follower than someone who doesn’t know Jesus at all.

How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight?

In the movie Fight Club, the character Tyler challenges the narrator by saying that until he is pushed into a life or death-ish intense situation like a fist fight, he can’t really know what he’s made of.

I don’t advocate you or I start fighting each other, but there is a very real Fight Club that surrounds us every day. It is much subtler but no less revealing of who we really, potentially damaging to our soul, and separates those that intend to follow Jesus from those that actual DO follow Jesus. These are the various “trials” or “temptations” of life.

James is my favorite book in the bible because it is so direct and in your face. It is a book that challenges us to move beyond what we think we stand for and prove what we are really made of.

In my favorite verse in the entire bible, God makes a very clear and glorious promise to those who prove themselves.

A man who endures trials [collective trials] is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God [that the Lord] has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12)

I also really like the Message version of this verse,

“Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.”

When everything is going great and we are not facing hardships, we don’t know ourselves as well as when things are challenging. You and I are challenged to put up a fight all the time; fighting our tongue and  lashing out at others in traffic, fighting the urge to defend yourself with difficult people, fighting the emotions of “not fair” when we don’t get everything we want, fighting lust in an oversexed world, fighting pride in yourself and the view that you are better than others… The list is endless.

I cannot say that I love Jesus and never fight to follow Him.

These are various trials and temptations. Some are small bar-room fights that pop up quick where you and I need to make a quick getaway, and some are long 12-round fights where you are going to get hit a lot and endurance is needed.

The key here is not that you and I always win each and every fight. You are not perfect and you cannot win on your own. You need the Holy Spirit in you to even start. But what this is saying is that you and I cannot say that we love Jesus and follow Him and never fight. We can’t say that we are on His team and never get in the ring. Fighting this world’s temptations and enduring trials with His help are THE way to show that you are actually His.

”…the crown of life would be the ultimate reward, the fulfillment of eternal life and the exaltation with Christ which will be enjoyed by those who, because of faith in Christ, have loved God enough to live faithfully, obeying him even through trials.” (Stulac). The key is living faithfully, not saying it.

This one is mine.

How glorious is the prize? Having gotten beat up here and there and having won some fights through Him, He promises to raise your hand and say to all – This one is mine. She’s proven she is with me and I love her. She WINS because I WON.

It is not natural to willingly walk into a fight, but that is the proving ground. How do you and I fight? We fight by training in His word and then doing it.

James1:22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face [the face of his birth] in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

How are you doing? Are you wanting to fight, but not yet been willing to get hit? Are these trials revealing who you really are vs who you intend to be?