This Sunday will mark the 1-year point from when we began our "soft launch" as a church. Since I am the one who puts together the little videos for home church or remote services each week, I remarked to the wife that this means I've been putting together these service products... week-in and week-out... for a full year. Some weeks were easier than others. Recently, during the snow storms which paralyzed the region at the beginning of 2022, we found ourselves piecing together church materials on generator power and 1-bar of AT&T cell reception. No matter what you do, or how simple or complex it may be, it's hard to keep something up for an entire year.
A phrase I've caught myself using more and more is "you can always find a good excuse to not do something." One of the blessings and curses of our modern life is the overlapping commitments many of us have thrust upon ourselves. We are a part of so many groups, communities, social circles, and organizations that there is almost always a "valid" reason to not do something if we really don't want to do it.
Sometimes we just have to stop and know our limitations. Sometimes we have to take time for ourselves and unwind... after all, mental health is important! However, sometimes we like to use "knowing our limitations", "commitments I've already made", or other life events as a reason to avoid things that may be hard, intimidating, or tiresome. It's not something that an outsider can often discern, so the onus is on us to be honest with ourselves: do we really have something standing in the way of our personal ministries, or are we getting soft?
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer to the point of being bound like a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. 10 This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy: For if we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:8-13)
It never feels fair to compare ourselves to Christ, Paul, or any of the other Apostles. These individuals seem larger than life (Christ literally was). Yet, Paul's conviction here to push through, endure, and maintain faithfulness to his calling is driven by the high standards of his savior. When he compares his own trouble, his own worries, and his own obstacles to those of Christ, they seem small. Yet, Christ still overcame. Just as Christ overcame, we too can overcome.
The popular devotion and message to give typically sounds something like this:
in the busy world we live in, flying at 100 miles a minute, we all just need to slow down. We need to take stock of of Christ has done for us. We need to know that the go-go-go of the world isn't necessarily what God has called us to do.
While all of this is very true, we have to be careful to not swing the pendulum in the other direction and get soft. The metaphor Paul uses earlier in 2 Timothy 2 is that of a soldier obeying a commander. The commander doesn't say "Come here" or "Go there", "but only if it is convenient for you at this time." Our obligation is to the commander, not our own comfort or convenience.
A good commander will know our limitations and Jesus is... rest assured... a good, good commander. Trust in God and his calling, endure to the end of the mission, and be comforted knowing that God will provide the reward.
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