{"chapter_no":"31","chapter_title":"The Rewards of Faith","book_id":"2","book_name":"The Story of James","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"338","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":3,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 31<\/p>

The Rewards of Faith<\/h1><\/p>

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When family members join together in faith<\/i>,<\/i> amazing things happen—The joy that comes when
blessings are realized<\/i> in our lives<\/i>—The value of intermediate rewards and the signs received along the
way as we wait for miracles.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

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Important miracles and guiding revelation we need for our families are almost never
singular events happening immediately after the first prayer. Instead, a series of smaller events
might be involved, taking place over a period of days, weeks, months or even years. We need,
therefore, to take a long-term investor's approach, organizing the tasks we need to do into
projects (spiritual investment portfolios) so we can track their progress (return on investment)
over time. The amount of time involved will not be known to us at the start, nor will we know up
front the total effort on our part that will be required. Everyone in the family can and should
participate in these projects and will, thereby, be able to share in the blessings as they occur
along the way. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Faith at the family level––when all members of a family, including the little children, are
praying and hoping for the same thing––is among the most beautiful manifestations of the gospel
on earth<\/span>. Taking a peek into the popular culture of past decades for a brief moment, we might
remember the wonderful TV programs like T<\/i>ouched by an Angel, T<\/i>he Waltons<\/i>, <\/i>Little House on
the <\/i>Prairie<\/i>, Dr<\/i>.<\/i> Quinn, Medicine Woma<\/i>n, and Promised Land<\/i>, among others. In these programs,
we saw the coming together of families to solve problems and how beautiful it is. <\/p>

 <\/p>

But please take special note of the phrase “blessings occurring along the way” mentioned
above. This is something we often forget about when praying for a specific blessing—the partial
payments we receive along the way as we wait. These partial payments are often a significant
part of the miracle bestowed upon us by God.<\/p>

 <\/p>

We see an example of this principle in a composer creating a symphony. Great works
such as these require that the composer take a project management approach to his composition.
The effort will involve many tasks and take months or even years to complete. Along the way, he
or she will also experience many intermediate rewards as beautiful musical phrases are sounded
on instruments for the first time. Inspiration from God may also occur during the creative
process, giving the composer satisfaction in seeing inspiration and artistry coming together in the
composition. The final reward for the composer is great when the symphony is performed in
public for the first time, but the totality of all the intermediate rewards that came before is
usually much greater. A composer receives these partial payments along the way in the creation <\/p>

of music, an artist in the development of a painting, an author in the writing of a book, a
homebuilder in the construction of a house, a film director in the production of a movie, a
missionary in the teaching of an investigator prior to baptism, and so on. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

The same principle also holds true for us as we await family-level revelation or a miracle
from heaven. The hope we have in this effort can be a useful tool, helping us to spot the little
signs provided by the Lord along the way, and to know we are on the right track. As we work
closely with God on such a project, and experience His participation and presence firsthand in
our affairs, our faith will grow stronger, and we will be comforted with the knowledge that we
are on the road to eternal life. In this way, we can work on both our temporal and spiritual goals
simultaneously<\/span>. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The day may soon come when the specific blessing we have been waiting for finally
arrives. What a great day that will be! To have watched and waited for so long, and then to
finally receive the blessing in the end––few things in life match that level of joy. If we are
obedient to the commandments, stay strong in our convictions, and patiently wait out the
timetable of the Lord, this may very well be the outcome for us, happening, perhaps, sooner than
we think. <\/p>

 <\/p>

If for some reason, however, the blessing we seek is not possible, the Lord has the option
of giving us blessings of equal or greater value in its place. So, as we look for the little signs
provided by the Lord along the way, we should also look for the presence of these replacement
blessings as well. Either way, we will be happy. In fact, we may even end up getting both—the
blessing we are seeking plus additional ones, too. <\/p>

 <\/p>

On this principle, consider the following story.<\/p>

 <\/p>

A young boy of twelve was playing a video game in his room when his father called for
him to run an errand. The boy performed the errand as asked, then quickly returned to his
position in front of the computer. Thirty minutes later, the boy was called on again by his father.
This time it was to help weed the garden in the backyard. The boy murmured at having been
interrupted again, but was obedient nonetheless. He paused his video game immediately and
went to help his father in the garden. After completing his work, he returned to his room,
gladdened that he was now free to resume his play, and expecting no further interruptions for the
rest of the day. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The father, however, desirous to test his boy’s faith, identified one last task for him to do.
Calling to his son's room, he told him of an important letter that needed to be mailed right away
before the post office closed. The boy, now very frustrated with all of these assignments, but still
obedient to his father’s wishes, came upstairs, jumped on his bike, and rode over to the post
office to mail the letter. As he returned home, he saw his father out in front of the house waiting
for him. His father had a big smile and seemed very happy and proud of him. Taking the boy in
his arms, he informed him that there would be no more tasks that day, and that he could resume
his video game with no further interruptions. But that was not all. The coming Saturday, he
would be taken to the local games store at the mall to buy three new video games of his own
choosing (those with safe, child-friendly ratings); then afterward, the whole family would make a <\/p>

trip over to the large amusement park in a nearby city––to go on rides, play arcade games, go
swimming, share a picnic together, and enjoy the large selection of fun activities there. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The lesson for the young boy is the lesson for us all. Once our faith has been tried, we
may indeed receive the exact blessing we desire. But we should also keep in mind there are a
large number of blessings in heaven for the Lord to choose from for us, a vastness of temporal
and spiritual blessings that fills the universe. <\/p>"}