Be Not
Weary
(Excerpt)
How
naturally the exhortation follows, "Let us not be weary in well-doing; for
in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." It is so easy for us to get
tired doing good, that is, when we are not looking to Jesus. We like to have
little intermissions, because constant doing good seems too much of a strain.
But that is only when we have not fully learned the joy of the Lord, which is
the strength that enables us to keep from getting weary. "They that wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as
eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint."
Is.40:31. But that which is especially
referred to here, as the context shows, is not simply the resisting of
temptation in our own flesh, but the helping of others. Here we need to learn a
lesson from Christ, who "shall not fail nor be discouraged till He have
set judgment in the earth." Though nine out of ten whom He relieved never
showed the least sign of appreciation, it made no difference with Him. He came
to do good, and not to be appreciated. Therefore, "in the morning sow thy
seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether
shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike
good." Ecc.11:6. We cannot tell how much we shall reap, nor from which of
the seed that we sow. Some may fall by the wayside, and be snatched away before
it has time to take root, and other may fall on stony ground, where it will
wither, and still other may fall among thorns, and be choked; but one thing is
certain, and that is that we shall reap. We do not know whether the morning
sowing or the evening sowing will prosper, or whether both shall alike be good;
but there is no possibility that both can be bad. One or the other alone may
prosper, or else both may be good. Isn't that encouragement enough for us not
to be weary in well-doing? The ground may seem poor, and the season may not be
favorable, so that the prospect for a crop may be most unpromising, and we may
be tempted to think that all our labor is wasted. Not so; "in due season
we shall reap, if we faint not." "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be
ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as
ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1Cor.15:58.
Make No
Difference
"As
we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto
them who are of the household of faith." In this we see that the apostle
speaks of temporal help, for it needs no special exhortation to preach the Word
to those who are not of the household of faith; they are the ones to whom it is
specially to be preached; but there is a natural tendency--natural, I say, not
spiritual--to limit charities to those who are called "deserving." We
hear much about "the worthy poor." But we are all unworthy of the
least of God's blessings, yet He showers them upon us continually. "If ye
do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do
even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank
have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love
ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your
reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for He is
kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."
Seek the
Opportunity
Note
especially the beginning of the tenth verse. "As we have therefore
opportunity," let us do good unto all men. Doing good to others is to be
considered a privilege to be enjoyed, and not an irksome duty to be discharged.
Men do not speak of disagreeable things as opportunities. No one says that he
had an opportunity to injure himself, or that he had an opportunity to lose
some money. On the contrary, a man will speak of an opportunity to make some
money, or to escape from some threatened danger. It is thus that we are to
consider doing good to the needy. But opportunities are always sought for. Men
are always on the lookout for an opportunity to get gain. So the apostle
teaches us that we should be seeking opportunities to help some one. This
Christ did. He "went about doing good." He traveled about the country
on foot, searching opportunities to do somebody some good, and He found them.
He did good, "for God was with Him." His name is Immanuel, which
means, "God with us." Now, as He is with us all the days, even to the
end of the world, so God is with us, doing good to us, that we also may do
good. "We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye
receive not the grace of God in vain." To this end, "receive ye the
Holy Ghost."
The Glad
Tidings
By E. J.
WAGGONER
(Excerpt- To be continued)
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