Life is Great if You Don't Weaken

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 5:9). 

Think about the irony of that verse.  Doing good is referenced as being potentially tiresome.  It’s true, isn’t it? 

My Grandpa use to say it this way, “Life is great if you don’t weaken.”  Then he would talk about how all the time people do the wrong thing, the hurtful thing, the cheating thing, the lying thing, the manipulative thing and they seem to get away with it smelling like roses.  But then he would look at me and say, “But Chad while it may not be fair, but we do the right thing anyhow.”  I heard that speech from my Grandpa Current more than once as we swung on their carport porch swing drinking an ice cold Pepsi.  And yet, it is a message I want to rebel against.  There is something inside of me that wants to throw myself on the floor and throw a tantrum of sorts.  I want to scream, but that is not how it should be.  Why is it so easy to do bad and so hard to do good?  Why does it seem the waters part for injustice, but waters crush in on every side those who try to bring justice?  Doing good should be energizing, not draining. 

But as my Grandpa alluded to and as Galatians directly spoke to, doing good must be done in the perspective of the long-haul, not the present moment.  Just a verse before Gal. 5:9 Paul writes, “A man reaps what he sows.  The man who reaps to sow his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” 

As we move through the Refocus process, I will be the first to admit that it is easy to become weary.  Perhaps you are feeling something it.  This process has its moments of excitement, but right now it has a lot of moments of just plain, hard work.  It is a good work.  It is a necessary work.  It is a work to which God has called us.  Nevertheless, it is challenging.  It would be much easier to simply look at things and say, “We’re fine.  All is well.  We’ll just sing a song, hear a sermon and go on our way.”  It would definitely be easier.  Believe me…I have considered doing that very thing.  However, such an easy way out would be sowing a harvest that we would later regret. 

Instead we look past the hard work of doing good now to the promise God gives to us.  He promises us that if we carry on; if we do not give up in the discomfort of change; if we keep our eyes on what matters most—Loving God and others and going into all the world with the gospel, then we will experience the reaping of a harvest that is better than we can imagine. 

There is only one thing standing between us now and that good harvest which is to come. There are two words the Scripture names as the deal breaker:  “Give up.”  If we give up on doing the good to which we are called, then we also give up on the good harvest God is preparing us for even now. 

So, for now, I ask you to carry on in doing good by sharing with me what you believe might be the “red balloon” of CFNAZ.  Turn in the card you received yesterday (or on any scrap piece of paper) this coming Sunday in the offering basket or email our church secretary who will keep your name anonymous. Please help us do the good work of this season of the refocus by giving your feedback.  As I read through all of the replies, I will prayerfully be looking for the common threads that reveal the red balloon God is asking us to release.  Then on Sunday, September 28, we will rejoice together as we LET IT GO!  I believe it is going to be a turning point day for us as we sow seeds for a harvest that will benefit even the generations that follow us