Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58
How many perfect Christians do you know? If you go to a conference and see all the faithful, devoted Christians there, you might be able to start making a list. But follow those folks home and check out their lives and attitudes on Monday, and you start to cross off the names. Look around the circle on Lord’s Day morning as the worship arises and you will see some folks who should surely be on the list. But track their path through the following week, and the list dwindles sharply. Don’t look in the mirror either, you won’t find a perfect Christian there. And yet, reading today’s text, you would almost think that Paul is telling the Corinthians to be pretty much perfect as far as their Christian life and service are concerned. He’s setting the standard pretty high. Who among us can reach it?
In fact, none of us can attain 100 percent to what our text says, but it should surely be our goal. And the higher the goal we strive for, the higher the level we actually reach. What does it take to be steadfast and unmovable? The idea the Apostle has in mind is a person who is unshakeable in their convictions and faithful in their commitments. Do you ever have doubts about God and His people, about the inerrancy of His word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit? There are things that we all wonder about sometimes in the right – or wrong – circumstances. But God would have us to be settled in our minds on His things. He would like us to be comfortable in our faith. He would long that we would be happy to be led by His Spirit and satisfied with His Word. God wants us to be satisfied with what He has taught us concerning Himself and His Assembly. The foundational doctrines of the faith should be the source of our delights, not of our doubts.
With all of our failings, we have to admit that we do not always about in the work of the Lord. Our commitment to His business is often a half-hearted thing, or a part-time effort. Even preachers can get side-tracked from the work they are committed to do. But our text tells us that God would like us to recommit our zeal to His work.
There is a reminder in this text that should cheer us on to faithfulness and service. Our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Nothing we do for Him is wasted effort or unremunerated. We can’t say that about any earthly endeavour.
In God’s own time,
In God’s own way,
Who does God’s work,
Will get God’s pay!
-Jim MacIntosh