WEARY IN WELL-DOING
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. Gal. 6:9, R.S.V.
To the surprise of many of his classmates, a young man with a positive Christian character began keeping company with a rebellious and deceitful young woman. Before long, they were spiraling together into activities that violated their parents' trust and their own commitments.
Several weeks later, when he once again stood on solid ground, he explained what had happened. "I just got tired of being the one with principles when so many others were enjoying a comfortable slide downhill. I got tired of saying No when everyone else was saying Yes. I got tired of being expected to live up to high ideals when it is so costly, so emotionally demanding. I just wanted to be with someone who didn't expect anything of me."
The Bible says that "the way of transgressors is hard" (Prov. 13:15) but that "the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn" (chap. 4:18, R.S.V.). Since that is true, then why is it so wearying to walk the paths of well-doing? Why does Paul need to warn against growing weary? Why can so many of us identify with the young man who simply claimed he was too tired to continue on? Should we fall into a fit of self-doubt, wondering if indeed we are even converted?
We will have to remember that Paul was a realist. Though he knew the grandeur of walking the high paths, he also knew that most people aren't instantly acclimatized to thin air. He knew that although the Christian has cast his steps toward a new and eternal country, he still walks in regular contact with entrenched earthlings. It takes time to learn the values of the new kingdom and to detach ourselves from the reference point of old friends' approval.
Some of the true joys of obedience are not as quick in coming as the temporary joys of indulgence; our minds must learn to reference to the larger picture. It was Jesus Himself who reminded us that the plant grows in stages, starting first with but a tiny blade. We shall indeed reap, Paul said, if we do not lose heart. Our God is not the kind of friend who leads His people down wearying, dead-end paths.
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. Gal. 6:9, R.S.V.
To the surprise of many of his classmates, a young man with a positive Christian character began keeping company with a rebellious and deceitful young woman. Before long, they were spiraling together into activities that violated their parents' trust and their own commitments.
Several weeks later, when he once again stood on solid ground, he explained what had happened. "I just got tired of being the one with principles when so many others were enjoying a comfortable slide downhill. I got tired of saying No when everyone else was saying Yes. I got tired of being expected to live up to high ideals when it is so costly, so emotionally demanding. I just wanted to be with someone who didn't expect anything of me."
The Bible says that "the way of transgressors is hard" (Prov. 13:15) but that "the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn" (chap. 4:18, R.S.V.). Since that is true, then why is it so wearying to walk the paths of well-doing? Why does Paul need to warn against growing weary? Why can so many of us identify with the young man who simply claimed he was too tired to continue on? Should we fall into a fit of self-doubt, wondering if indeed we are even converted?
We will have to remember that Paul was a realist. Though he knew the grandeur of walking the high paths, he also knew that most people aren't instantly acclimatized to thin air. He knew that although the Christian has cast his steps toward a new and eternal country, he still walks in regular contact with entrenched earthlings. It takes time to learn the values of the new kingdom and to detach ourselves from the reference point of old friends' approval.
Some of the true joys of obedience are not as quick in coming as the temporary joys of indulgence; our minds must learn to reference to the larger picture. It was Jesus Himself who reminded us that the plant grows in stages, starting first with but a tiny blade. We shall indeed reap, Paul said, if we do not lose heart. Our God is not the kind of friend who leads His people down wearying, dead-end paths.
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