What is Faith?
Faith Calls for Perseverance
2 Corinthians 13:5-10
The Message
5-9Test yourselves to
make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along taking
everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need
firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test
it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test
won't show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we'd rather the
test showed our failure than yours. We're rooting for the truth to win
out in you. We couldn't possibly do otherwise.
We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.
10I'm writing this to you now so that when I come I won't have to say another word on the subject. The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart. I want to get on with it, and not have to spend time on reprimands.
We don't just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.
10I'm writing this to you now so that when I come I won't have to say another word on the subject. The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart. I want to get on with it, and not have to spend time on reprimands.
For Reflection
What (for you) constitutes a test of faith?
For me, someone with whom I disagree and who is adamant about taking disagreeable action tests my faith. I fight the tendency to strike in my defense of such untoward action. Holding my tongue seems almost impossible. Avoiding a death spiral of argument seems inevitable. I pray for patience. I wait, boiling inside, but holding by the smallest thread, an aura of calm.
Sometimes, the cooling off period results in my realization that the disagreement is not as important as I once thought after all. Sometimes, I find the right question that will lead to a negotiated satisfactory settlement. Sometimes, I just have to suck it up and realize that, for now, the cause is lost.
If I fail, relationships often suffer. and the loser loses more than the argument. If my winning drives a brother or sister from the fold or does not endear him or her to the cross, what good is being right?
For me, someone with whom I disagree and who is adamant about taking disagreeable action tests my faith. I fight the tendency to strike in my defense of such untoward action. Holding my tongue seems almost impossible. Avoiding a death spiral of argument seems inevitable. I pray for patience. I wait, boiling inside, but holding by the smallest thread, an aura of calm.
Sometimes, the cooling off period results in my realization that the disagreement is not as important as I once thought after all. Sometimes, I find the right question that will lead to a negotiated satisfactory settlement. Sometimes, I just have to suck it up and realize that, for now, the cause is lost.
If I fail, relationships often suffer. and the loser loses more than the argument. If my winning drives a brother or sister from the fold or does not endear him or her to the cross, what good is being right?
Pray
that in all that you do seek ways to express your confidence in,
commitment to, and trust in the Lord that He will make all things right.
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