“And of some have compassion, making a difference” (Jude
22)
In our everyday life we tend to take things for granted.
We just pass things by and don’t appreciate their value or their worth.
Let me ask you a question. Is God faithful with you? Has
God been faithful with you? Before you answer, remember it’s a two-way street.
It goes both ways. Let me now ask you, “Are you faithful with God?”
The easy answer is yes, but I encourage you to take a
closer look. I had occasion to look up what the word “faithful” means. I was
surprised by some of the answers. It means “dependable;” “honest;” “true;”
“trustworthy;” “keep going;” and “promise.”
A closely related word is “endure.” Many people assume
this to mean the same as patience. But consider this: Patience is part of
endurance, but to endure is to be brave; to stand firm; and to meet resistance.
Faithful endurance makes a difference.
Faithful endurance makes a difference to us because when
we face situations of faith, times when our faith is tested, times when God
seems far away. God’s faithfulness to us in His Son Jesus will make us stronger.
Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth confronted
their faithfulness. Paul was relating all he had experienced in his preaching
Jesus Christ. He met resistance on many fronts, both public and religious. And
he responds in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “Each time he [God] said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of
Christ can work through me.”
Do we face resistance in today’s world?
Can we have faithful endurance to stand up bravely for what we believe? We
should not stand up as one church better than another or one denomination has a
better chance at salvation. Those are prideful competitive attitudes. We should
stand up for Jesus Christ as Messiah [promised one], as Savior, and as Lord of
Lords.
Faithful endurance makes a difference to our communities,
those with whom we live every day, those we see at the grocery store, or the restaurant,
or the gas station. In the first chapter of the book of Acts Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And
you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere; in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Can you imagine the power to make a
difference to the entire world? If we live our life with the power of the Holy
Spirit, we will have the power for faithful endurance. We will have the power
to stand up, to meet resistance, and to boldly declare, “Jesus Chris is Lord!
That faithful endurance is the example many people need to see in you and me to
teach them about accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord of their life.
Many people will hide behind the things
some people suffer for their faith and say, “I cannot do that;” or “That person
has more faith than me;” or “I cannot do what they can do.” STOP LIMITING GOD’S
POWER. Faithful endurance says, “For I can do ALL
THINGS through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) The word
“For” in that verse means “because.” We can do everything, including faithfully
endure, bravely meet resistance, and boldly stand up in our world for the name
of Jesus Christ.
Will everyone be friendly and accept?
Will everyone be nice to us about our faith in Jesus Christ? Sadly no they will
not. If we do nothing, then nothing changes. Doing nothing is not rebellion, it
is surrender. My friends we have to stop listening to what the world is
saying and start reading what the Word of God says.
Some people are discouraged because they don’t know or
understand God very well. They are struggling about what to do with different
things going on (or going wrong) with their life. Or they are confused and
don’t know what they should do. Our faithful endurance to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ can bring the answer to each of these.
For faithful endurance to make a difference we must see
God’s supreme love and love him above anyone or anything else. We must see
God’s suffering love as seen in His Son Jesus Christ and be prepared to “carry
our cross” daily. And we must yield or give over authority for our life to His
control. That is faithful endurance and that will make a difference.
