Keep On Keeping On

 

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

(1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)

 

This was the confirmation verse assigned to me by my pastor on the day when I publicly confessed my faith before the congregation. And I believe that he assigned it to me knowing my calling. He assigned it to me knowing that I was being led by the Lord into the pastoral ministry.

 

This verse certainly does speak to me, it certainly does minister to me, as I carry out this calling. It’s been a good reminder to me throughout the years. However, it’s a verse that speaks to all of us.

 

It speaks to all of us because, as we serve the Lord, we often become tired. As we seek to serve the church, we often become worn down. And as we deal with not only the people of our society who surround us from day to day, but also the children of God, we often become frustrated.

 

We are often left feeling unsatisfied. We are often left feeling unfulfilled. And we are often left feeling like our efforts are accomplishing nothing.

 

For this reason, we wonder if it’s worth it. We feel like throwing in the towel. In fact, we feel like giving up altogether.

 

And many times, we do just that. In our fatigue, we pull back. In our frustration, we give up. In our exasperation, we resign from the role we’ve been filling.

 

This can happen whether it’s a role we’re filling at church, at home, on the job, or in the community. We simply cease doing the things we’ve always done. And we no longer try to fill the needs that we once satisfied.

 

It’s in these circumstances that the words of the apostle Paul, in the passage above, speak to us. He encourages us to be steadfast, to be firmly based. He encourages us to be unmovable. He encourages us to be always abounding, always over and above, when it comes to the work of the Lord. And we’re to do so knowing that, in the Lord, our labor is never in vain.

 

No matter how things may seem, our labor is never meaningless. No matter how it may feel, our labor is never empty. No matter the apparent results, or lack of them, we can be assured that our labor in the Lord is always accomplishing something, even if we cannot see it.

Unashamed

 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

(Romans 1:16 ESV)

 

We often experience feelings of shame. And, at times, these feelings are legitimate. They are experienced rightfully.

 

We feel shame, for example, when our sin or wrongdoing is exposed. We are embarrassed because of what we’ve done.  We’re self-conscious because of the fact that our sin has become known. And we are humiliated because others are now aware of our specific shortcomings.

 

Other times, however, the sense of shame that we feel is unwarranted. It’s unjustified. And it is needless.

 

An example of this is brought out in the passage above. Many of us, although we are believers, are ashamed of the gospel. We are ashamed of the message of Jesus.

 

We’re ashamed of it because it’s at odds with the society in which we live. We’re ashamed of it because it’s not well-received by the people among whom we live. We’re ashamed of it because the gospel is rejected by those deemed wise, and because it’s not the popular view of our day.

 

For this reason, although we continue to trust in Christ, we keep our faith private. Although we have been called by Christ to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation and to make disciples of all nations, we fail to reach out. We speak of our faith, and we live our faith, only among those who share it.

 

However, if we rightly understood the power of the gospel, could we do so? If we rightly understood the power of the gospel, would we feel such shame? I believe the answer to these questions is “no.”

 

I say this because of the words of Paul in the passage above. He tells us, there, that he is not ashamed of the gospel. And he presents to us the reason for his lack of shame.

 

He was not ashamed of the gospel, he says, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. In this way, he’s referring to the fact that we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. And he’s referring to the fact that we are brought to faith, that we are enabled to believe, by the gospel (Romans 10:13-17).

 

Apart from the gospel, this is not possible. Apart from the gospel, we are unable to believe. And, apart from the gospel, we are not able to be saved.

 

This, then, leads us, as believers, to share the gospel with the whole creation. It leads us to make disciples of all nations. And it leads us to do so unashamedly.

As we’ve been led to faith by the gospel, we share it with others. As we have come to know the work of the Lord through the gospel, we share it with others. And as we’ve come to trust in Christ through the gospel, we share it with others.

 

We do so as we come to share the heart of God for the lost. We do so as we are led to desire the salvation of our neighbor. We do so, as we desire that none should be condemned.

A Mutual Encouragement

 “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.”

(‭‭Romans‬ ‭1:11-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

As we choose a church, and as we participate and interact with our church, we typically have one goal in mind: We want to be fed. We want to receive from the church. We want to be blessed by the church and its ministries.

We look for a church that checks off all of the boxes. Does it have a men’s ministry? Does it have a women’s ministry? Is there a Sunday School program? Is there an active youth ministry for our kids? Is there a nursery? Is there a music program? Are their small groups? And the list goes on and on.

If the church can’t fill all of our needs, we leave. If we don’t feel that we’re being fed, we leave. And we go off in search of a new church that will better do so.

Please don’t misunderstand where I’m going with this. We should be fed by our church. We should be blessed by it. If we have kids, and there is absolutely nothing for them at the church, it’s understandable that this might concern us.

The problem, however, is when we seek only to receive, and not to give. The problem is when we seek only to be served, and not to serve. The problem is when we seek only to be fed, and not to feed others.

We see in the above passage that, as Paul sought to visit the church at Rome, he desired to bless them. He wanted to impart some gift to them. He wanted to encourage them in their faith.

However, we see that he expected to receive from them as well. He sought their encouragement for his own faith. He desired that they might be a mutual blessing to one another.

You might object to what I’m saying, noting that Paul was an apostle. He was called by God to serve and to minister. And, for this reason, it’s only natural that he would desire to be a blessing to this congregation.

We must realize, however, that even if we aren’t an apostle like Paul, and even if we aren’t a pastor or a missionary, we are called by God to serve the church. We are called to be a blessing to others in the body of Christ.

Our concern, then, as we search for a church, our concern as we participate and interact with our church, should not be only what we might receive. We should concern ourselves also with what we might give. We should concern ourselves with being a blessing to others. And, in this way, we will be mutually encouraged. We will be mutually built up in faith.

Believing the Unbelievable

 “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

(Genesis 15:1-6 ESV)

We live in a society rooted in logic. We want everything to make sense to us. And we struggle with things that don’t fit that mold.

This is true not only in matters of practical life. It’s true also when it comes to our faith. We want the things of God to make sense to us. We desire to understand them. And if they don’t make sense, if they don’t seem rational, our tendency is to dismiss them or to ignore them completely.

Really, this is nothing new. Abram struggled with this in the passage above. He struggled with it as God made him a wonderful promise.

God told Abram that he was his shield, that he was his protector and defender. He told Abram that his reward would be very great, or that he was his very great reward. And, on the surface, most of us would love to have God say the same to us. We would love to receive such a promise from God.

However, as he looked at his life, it didn’t make sense to Abram. He was lacking one of the greatest, and one of the most basic blessings desired by men. At his advanced age, he remained childless. He lacked an heir.

It didn’t make sense to him that he could lack this blessing and be blessed by God. It didn’t make sense to him that he could lack this blessing while God was his shield. If God’s Word was true, he reasoned, he would have a child. If it was true, he would have an heir.

God then reassured him that he would have an heir. He reassured Abram that his very own son would be his heir. And God promised him that his offspring would be as many as the stars of the sky.

Again, logically, this didn’t make a lot of sense. But Abram believed God. And God credited that faith to him as righteousness.

We know how the story played out. God miraculously provided a son to Abram and Sarai in their old age. Even though they were past the age of childbearing, together they bore Isaac. And their family grew into the nation of Israel.

When things don’t make sense to us, when the things of God don’t make sense to us, it need not destroy us. Even then, we can trust God. Even then, we can believe his promise. And we can do so because God is God.

He is not limited as we are. He isn’t bound by the laws of nature. He isn’t in bondage to sin and its consequences. He doesn’t lie. He doesn’t change his mind. What he says, he can do. And what he says, he will do.

We, therefore, can believe him. Regardless of what our mind tells us, we can believe him. And we can have the assurance that, like Abram, God will credit this to us as righteousness.

The Pleasure Principle

 “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

(‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭2:10-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

We, in the United States, live in a very prosperous society. We live in a place where even our poor have an abundance compared to most others in the world today. And, with our wealth, we tend to pursue pleasure.

We buy the biggest and fanciest homes. We buy the most luxurious cars. We buy the most expensive clothing. We buy toys, with which to entertain ourselves. We go on lavish vacations. We buy excessive amounts of alcohol. We pay to be entertained and to have our desires satisfied.

This, we believe, is why we work so hard. This, we believe, is why we pursue success. We want to live the good life. And, as we’re able, we seek to appease our every whim and to satiate our every lust.

We are not satisfied with a simple existence. We are not satisfied with our needs being met. We’re not content with the monotonous, and find no happiness in the day-to-day. 

However, as Solomon discovered and recounted in the above passage, this is vanity. It’s meaningless. It’s nothing more than a striving after the wind. 

He recounts how he denied himself nothing that he desired. He tells of how he kept from himself no pleasure. This, he said, was his reward for his toil. But, in the end, there was nothing to be gained. 

This is only one aspect of life that Solomon found meaningless. His point, however, is that we pursue so many things that are just that. And we ignore the source of true meaning.

After pursuing meaning and lasting satisfaction in so many aspects of this life, he brings us back to the Lord. He encourages us, in chapter 12, to remember our Creator in the days of our youth, before life becomes hard. And he reminds us to fear God and to keep his commandments, which is the whole duty of man.

This, you see, is a good lesson for us. We learn from Solomon that the Lord is the only place where satisfaction may be found. We learn that he is the source of all that is meaningful. 

I’m not suggesting that it’s wrong for us to experience pleasure, or that pleasure itself is sinful. But it must not become an idol. We must not pursue it above all else, seeking from it satisfaction and relief from our distress.