“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12
I heard a comment recently from a comedian who was being interviewed and he said “I am religious…but just not ‘real’ religious” and that reflection on him being ‘religious’ caused me to think about these children who attend the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe, Haiti and me and possibly you. Back in the day I enjoyed playing tennis and considered myself to be good, but not ‘really’ good and I was humbled by several better athletes on a number of occasions. We can train, study and strive to be the very best at something but will by this world’s standards never attain that ‘really good’ status simply because that is not how God wove us together. When you look closely at these sixteen children please realize that many of them live in a home the size of your garage; without indoor plumbing and electricity. They learn about Jesus every day in school and while some in our world will say these are not religious enough because of their age our Sovereign God says they are His and they are being sent to accomplish His will; just as they are. It doesn’t matter how many scriptures you have memorized or what your Sunday attendance may be, our Heavenly Father has prepared you just the way you are to accomplish His will where you may be living today…even if you don’t consider yourself to be ‘really’ religious. By the way, four dollars will buy lunch for this group. I am closing today with the words from the hymn ‘Fight the Good Fight with All Thy Might’ that were written by John S.B. Monsell in 1863.
“Fight the good fight with all thy might; Christ is thy Strength and Christ thy Right. Lay hold on life, and it shall be thy joy and crown eternally. Run the straight race Thro' God's good grace; lift up thine eyes and seek His face. Life with its way before us lies; Christ is the Path and Christ the Prize. Cast care aside; upon thy Guide lean, and His mercy will provide; lean, and the trusting soul shall prove Christ is its Life and Christ its Love. Faint not nor fear, His arms are near; He changeth not, and thou art dear. Only believe, and thou shalt see that Christ is All in all to thee.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay