COUNTING ON THEM

The wise farmer can usually depend on expected timetables of seedtime and harvest. Not so in the spiritual life. One of the greatest frustrations in the Christian ministry, and principal cause for "weariness in well doing" is the inability to calculate the spiritual outcome of faithful labors in the work of the Lord.

--Timothy George

Vacationers get tired of sunsets, millionaires get tired of money, kids get tired of toys, and Christians get tired of doing good. At first the excitement of teaching a new SS class was strong, but now you have grown weary of well-doing. The thrill is gone. At first you felt clean and strong when you first drove the van, as you taught the Lao English, let the small group study, visited the newcomers, started reading the Bible, worked in the emergency shelter--but now you have grown weary in well-doing. The inner power and joy have seeped away. It's a chore. You've lost heart.

Gabriel frowned and looked rather skeptical. He knew well what poor stuff humans were made of. "Yes," he said, "but what if Peter and James and John grow weary? What if the people who come after them forget? What if way down through the centuries people just don't tell others about you?

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