How Vaccines Work

June 9, 2021 - Mark Anderson

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Let me state at the outset that I am not a doctor of any kind, but like most folks I know enough to be dangerous.  With that said, I have long been fascinated by the theory behind the science of vaccines.  So, with my limited understanding, here’s what I know about how a vaccine is supposed to work: it gives you some particle of the thing from which you’re trying to be protected.  The thought is that by putting this adverse thing in your body, your immune system will become heightened and fight it, thus putting your system on high alert if it should try to invade you in the future.  If the vaccine is effective, the doctors tell us that we are now immune.  

Frankly, I cannot help but think that hardships and trials work the same way in our spiritual system.  We face trials, sometimes over the course of weeks, months, or even years.  It is during these trials that our spiritual system should stand up, trust Jesus even more,  with the end result being a more mature relationship with Christ.  In his letter, James explains the mechanics of it.  He explains that these trials produce perseverance.   This leads me to believe that perseverance is not something that comes alive without the presence of struggle in our lives.  Much like the insertion of vaccines, our spiritual system should come alive when adversity hits us.

There is one another aspect of these verses which should not go overlooked.  James tells his fellow believers to “consider it pure joy” when you face these trials and hardships.  I note the word joy here.  Joy, unlike happiness, is born out of a deep understanding of God at work in our lives.  An understanding of joy allows us to be happy, sad, angry, and have basically the full gamut of emotions when we are going through struggles.  But, underneath it all, there is something inexplicable.  Something the world truly does not understand.  It is what I saw in the older folks in my church when I was growing up.  They would still give God the praise no matter the circumstances.  At first I thought it was a front. No way could they continue to have joy in the midst of what they were going through.  At some point as I became older, I realized it wasn’t a front.  There was real joy there.  It is not easily understood because that joy of the Lord has been matured in the most difficult circumstances of life.  They realized that God had kept them and had never left them.  And that joy was a strength to endure the struggles.  

All of us should want to grow stronger in Christ.  Indeed, the continued effectiveness of our witness depends on our maturity.  The scriptures tell us that adversity, in whatever shape or form, is the pathway to that growth.  Lord, help us to allow that adversity to create maturity in us so that we will be “complete, not lacking anything.”  James 1:4.    

Mark Anderson

Norristown Faith & Hope COTN

manderson9692@gmail.com