The Privilege of Persevering People
“And let us not be weary in well
doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9
A young Dwight Moody
heard a preacher say that the world has yet to see what God can do with a man
wholly surrendered to Him. Moody’s
response was honorable in that he determined to be that man. Other great
followers of Christ have had a similar passion that inspires us centuries after
their passing. They had a way of viewing
their commitment to Christ not as an obligation but as a privilege and God
blessed them because of their love for Him.
David Livingstone,
the great missionary to Africa was another
such committed disciple. He once
wrote:
“People talk about the
sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa . Can that be called a sacrifice which is
simply paid back as a small part of the great debt owing to our God, which we
can never repay? Is that a sacrifice
which brings its own reward of healthful activity, the consciousness of doing
good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away
with such a word, such a view, and such a thought! It is emphatically no
sacrifice. Say rather it is a
privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering
or danger now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and
charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and
sink: but let this only be for a moment.
All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter
be revealed in and for us. I never made
a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to
talk when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s
throne on high to give Himself for us.”
God’s Word tells us
of a man named Caleb who, in the most difficult circumstances, chose to wholly
follow the Lord. His sacrifices were greater because of His perspective of
God’s greatness and commitment to us. Into
the faces of the Israelites who, in cowardice and rebellion, sought to kill
him, Caleb (and his dedicated friend Joshua) proclaimed that God was faithful
to fulfill His promise (Numbers 13 and 14).
As a result of Caleb’s courageous, obedient stand, the Lord made him a
very special promise: “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit
within him and has followed me fully, I will bring him into the land where into
he went; and his seed shall possess it.” (Numbers 14:24)
The first part of
this promise was fulfilled in a very special way because of that “other spirit”
the Lord said Caleb had. In Joshua,
chapters 14 and 15, we are told that Caleb asked for his inheritance to include
the land possessed by the giants who had struck such fear in Israel in the
time of their rebellion. He then
proceeded to conquer them. They renamed
the chief city in this place Hebron - that which had represented
discouragement, fear, and defeat became better named, “fellowship and
communion.” This is the very promise God
made to us in Romans
8:37-39 : “We are more than conquerors through Him who
loved us…nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” But let us be
sure we have the “other spirit” (Romans 8:9-17) operating within us if we would
expect to conquer in the name of the Lord as Caleb did.
The second part of God’s promise to Caleb-the promise to his children -
is, if possible, even more wonderful. We see that fulfilled when Caleb was able to
provide for his daughter, a conqueror for a husband and a land with life-giving
water for her inheritance.
What a joy it is to
know that, in Christ, we have the greatest heritage to pass on to our children. Like Caleb, by obediently and courageously
take a godly stand, we can do the same for our families, church and community
(John 7:37-39) because our Lord Jesus is still looking for Caleb’s, Moody’s,
and Livingstone’s to champion His cause. The choice is yours.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Why is it easy to think of
Christian sacrifice as an obligation rather than a privilege?
2) Think about how big of a
sacrifice Christ has made for us to remember how small the sacrifices we are
asked to make in comparison.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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