BEING FAITHFUL

Fred Craddock, in an address to ministers, caught the practical implications of consecration. "To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said. "To pour myself out for others. . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom -- I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. "We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking $l,000 bill and laying it on the table-- 'Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.' But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $l,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, 'Get lost.' Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it's harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul."

When does it seem to be the hardest to be faithful? It is in the everyday living for Christ; in our everyday walk with the Lord is when we tend to let things go. When we get tired of the grind, when we start feeling put out or left out, when it seems that others have a glorious walk with the Lord and all we have is struggles. Everyday, every moment of everyday we are required to be faithful, not following religious rules, but looking for opportunities to put a quarter or fifty cents down here or there. Looking for ways to be a good and faithful servant.
This doesn’t happen by accident, it has to be intentional, it has to be something that we watch for, and it will not happen just on Sunday morning, as a matter of fact it happens very few times on Sunday morning. But it will happen the rest of the time; it will happen a lot more often than you think if you are looking for it.
Look for times when you can show Christ to others, to your wife, your husband, you kids, family...total strangers.
And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
Matthew 25:40 (ESV)