Firm in the Faith

“Be careful. Hold firmly to your faith. Have courage and be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

It would be easy to read a verse like this and launch into a diatribe on the evils of today’s society and write about how much better it was “back then”; whenever “back then” was. What we miss is that Paul wrote these words before the first century was over. It is a great mistake to read them as if they are written in reaction to some sort of ungodly time we currently live in.

A student of Christian history recognizes that passages like this have almost always been used to warn about the dangers of the “present age”, no matter when that “age” may have existed. Almost every generation longs for some previous time when things were “better”, and people lived closer to God, or when the churches were full, or when people respected the clergy. Well, we could go on with the list.

When we use this verse to put down the present generation, we usually do it in a way that puts us outside the need for admonition. We want to be the prophet, hearing God and tongue-lashing a dark and evil time while we are doing our best to avoid temptation. Thus, we feel vindicated in sharing the “call to courage” while not having to ask ourselves where we have failed.

What if we start taking these passages as universal statements that every follower in Christ needs to hear throughout time? Even better, it is important to understand why they were first written. Who were the Corinthians; why did Paul write to them, and why does he tell them, in particular, to be careful and hold firmly to the faith?

Since this is a devotional thought and not a commentary on the passage, I’ll refrain from giving all the historical background. What I do what to ask is this: “How firmly am I holding to my faith? How courageous am I when it comes to following Jesus? How strong am I as well?” I can reflect on those questions without having to beat up this, or any generation. And, I’ll probably come out with a more honest answer.

It should be easy to observe that following Jesus takes quite a bit of carefulness. It is sad that we have made it about avoid a handful of major behaviors, and, having done that, we really don’t examine our faith much at all. If I score better on my morality card than at least half of the Christians I know, then I should be doing quite well, thank you.

What if Jesus isn’t scoring it that way? What if He is looking for something other than a high percentage of morality? What if it is even possible to be nearly pure, morally speaking, and still be someone with little courage or strength as far as following Christ is concerned.

I suppose it goes without saying that a follower of Christ will be have high ethics, good morals and integrity. But those are only the results of a life which follows Jesus. It does take a certain kind of courage to live and speak your faith. It is even harder, though, when we have concentrated on behavior. We lose courage every time we slip up a bit, or have circumstances that seem more painful than expected for a “child of God.”

Recently I shared my struggle about what direction my life should take while I deal with chronic pain. I even held out the possibility of leaving the ministry. One person took this as “giving up” my faith. It would be nothing even close to that. In fact, it would take more faith for me to leave the ministry once I had honestly assessed the fact that I could not function in a way that helped the congregation I serve anymore.

Leaving the ministry would put me in a position of having little or no way to produce an income. My point is, “courage” and holding firmly to my faith have nothing to do with being “in ministry” or not. It has to do with how much I am fully following Jesus, no matter the line or work or calling He places me in.

And of course, there are those who think that if I were only a bit more firm in my faith, I would be healed and free of my headaches. I do not wish my condition on anyone, but there are times I think people who say such things should have to go through some terrible, never-ending struggle that seems to never respond to prayer at all. Perhaps they would understand, finally, that prayer physical healing is not a “measure” for how much faith someone has. Healing is certainly available to God’s children, and I pray regularly for my healing, and invite others to as well. But I am not going to allow myself to feel degraded simply because I am not yet healed.

I am pretty sure that the enemy would love to have me give up my faith over such a paltry item as head pain. Though it pounds at me every day, and though I can barely think many times during the day, the pain I suffer is nothing compared to the suffering my dear Jesus went through. The forgiveness He offers me is of far greater worth than living the rest of my days with zero pain.

Would I take healing if Jesus offered? Of course, I would be an idiot to turn Him down. But I shall never consider my situation to be second-rate. He gave me full-on redemption, I am worth more to Him than I can ever imagine. I am adopted in God’s family, fully recognized as a son of the Living God. He has called me, along with everyone who follows Him, “Friend”.

If I get to walk beside Him the rest of my life, and the only burden I have the rest of the way are these bothersome headaches, I will count myself favored and blessed. There is nothing that is as sweet to me than His goodness and grace. That is why, no matter what generation I live in, I will do my best to hold firmly to the faith. How could I do otherwise?