"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed..."
2 Timothy 4:10
I feel so blessed right now...
2 Timothy 4:10
I feel so blessed right now...
I am entering into the pains of the Lord and of saints like the apostle Paul.
How can I explain this Christian walk? There is war and victory going on at the same time. So many of the saints have known great periods of suffering, and it's not just physical sufferings I'm talking about, although they have been beaten, stoned, crucified and thrown into cold prisons. Instead, I am referring to the invisible levels of pain which human eye cannot see and no one but the sufferer can understand.
Paul oftentimes lost those who were closest to him. Some of his right-hand men deserted. They walked off in the middle of their ministries, leaving Paul forsaken and grieved.
Who can understand such cowardice and rebellion even among Paul's inner circle? But this happened to the beloved apostle again and again. Yet the Lord strengthened Paul, and the work of evangelism, and the building up of the believers continued on.
The beloved apostle said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Praise the Lord that Paul could say such things. But the fact is, not every Christian can.
For me, right now, this inner pain has been intense. For I have lost one who has been so close to me. He has surrendered to the flesh and has stopped fighting. He has not kept on course but has gone astray. His faith has been weakened.
And I feel within myself the deepest, most agonizing pain having to see this spiritual defeat being manifested in someone whom I love as a brother, and who has been standing at my side as a "warrior for Christ" for so long a time.
May God have mercy on the Church. May we never shrink from our service to Jesus Christ, and from the many hardships we will inevitably face. May we never give up, quit, or fail at such an hour.
D.B.
How can I explain this Christian walk? There is war and victory going on at the same time. So many of the saints have known great periods of suffering, and it's not just physical sufferings I'm talking about, although they have been beaten, stoned, crucified and thrown into cold prisons. Instead, I am referring to the invisible levels of pain which human eye cannot see and no one but the sufferer can understand.
Paul oftentimes lost those who were closest to him. Some of his right-hand men deserted. They walked off in the middle of their ministries, leaving Paul forsaken and grieved.
Who can understand such cowardice and rebellion even among Paul's inner circle? But this happened to the beloved apostle again and again. Yet the Lord strengthened Paul, and the work of evangelism, and the building up of the believers continued on.
The beloved apostle said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Praise the Lord that Paul could say such things. But the fact is, not every Christian can.
For me, right now, this inner pain has been intense. For I have lost one who has been so close to me. He has surrendered to the flesh and has stopped fighting. He has not kept on course but has gone astray. His faith has been weakened.
And I feel within myself the deepest, most agonizing pain having to see this spiritual defeat being manifested in someone whom I love as a brother, and who has been standing at my side as a "warrior for Christ" for so long a time.
May God have mercy on the Church. May we never shrink from our service to Jesus Christ, and from the many hardships we will inevitably face. May we never give up, quit, or fail at such an hour.
D.B.