New Quote of the Moment

Fight the good fight and the spiritual muscles will grow.

Nancy J. Tozier Sieling

How I need such encouragement in my life! That statement touches on the same themes Jonathan Edwards articulates in “Pressing into the Kingdom of God.” It’s a startlingly real and honest exhortation to look at this universe plainly, to stop being afraid that my honesty will be misconstrued as cynicism, to see corruption for what it is and not be in denial of it, and to fight against it in myself and in the world.
When I read those ten words quoted above, they say much more to me: do not give up; do not let your guard down; seek and violently apprehend the kingdom of heaven; bring forth with much labor the fruit of free salvation; the pains of growth and good work are worthwhile; I was created to fight in this way; the end is coming soon.

It had occurred to me yesterday how tremendous the temptation to be complacent really is. Ours is a culture, for some reason, that has idealized and idolized this magical time and place called “retirement.” Many think that if they work really hard, they’ll find a summit, and then, thenceforth, it’s an easy ride. They’re under the illusion that the beginning of life is very difficult, but if you do many of the “right” and “prudent” things, then there is a point where you can coast. My opinions concerning professional/occupational retirement aside;—the fact is that we would coast ourselves into hell if we applied this same attitude to our spiritual lives. And when I write “spiritual lives,” I mean to include all our works with it, inasmuch as our walking with God and our working on earth are utterly and inseparably linked (ref. Genesis 1:26-31, Ephesians 2:10).
Imagine the disaster of an airline pilot who walks away from the controls of his passenger jet after he reaches cruising altitude. He cannot stop midway through! Landing is the most difficult of his procedures. Descending may take less fuel, but it takes much more work from the pilot and the flight directors to make a safe landing possible. Our lives are to be seen no differently. May we never think the end is less important than the beginning! All that time and effort spent “growing up” is not to be taken for granted by allowing a steady decay and lack of diligence in our work thereafter. An orange tree that spends its years growing tall and wide and burrowing its healthy roots ought not to make such efforts and then not bear fruit. An orange tree that does not bear oranges is useless, no matter how large it has become. And so it is with our lives that seasons may change, and we may no longer need to “grow up” to adulthood, but that does not mean we ought to cease altogether, and how much less should we presume that we have come to such a place now that we may not do the work required of us! The same spiritual mother quoted above also wrote, “We should never stop growing until we die.” Whereas some snidely remark that humans begin dying from the moment they are born, the wise person knows that there is renewal and transformation and real growth for him all the days of his life; and it is ever important to mention that the wise person, believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ, also knows that the death of his body here is temporary, and there is a new body and a new life everlasting to be obtained. The wise person, waiting for the day when the Lord redeems and reconciles all things to Himself, will live today not as one who is dying, but instead he will fight the good fight in celebration and hope for the salvation of God, and in so doing he will grow and experience true life beyond the bounds of this temporal situation.
I, for one, refuse to settle for a retirement from the things God has sent and appointed me to do. I will not stand at the door of the kingdom of heaven and be content to only peer inside. With all my strength will I move forward forcefully and take hold of the blessing given freely, by the grace of God, in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And as for my struggles, I say, in the words of Jason Upton, “I will not let pain have its way.” I will not be defeated by the obstacles. I will not forsake God’s mandate in the face of adversity, because all things are possible with God. I will not be complacent and ready to rest before the appointed time, because I know that the pains of my labors will be as nothing in afterthought when I stand only a moment on that hill among the redeemed, clothed in white, singing praise to the Lamb.

Glory to God. Amen.