A WORD TO THE WEARY
Warsaw Christian Church, Richard Bowman, Pastor
Text: Galatians 6:7 – 10: Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
I often find that in sermon delivery, I am speaking to myself. What I plan to share with you this morning is relevant for me, and I hope also for you. I have to confess that the life of a minister is often a life where weariness is a frequent companion. After serving as your pastor for many years, I sometimes wonder, “What good am I doing? Am I helping the congregation grow in Christ?” What difference would it have made if I had not been here for the past 21+? When I arrived, our attendance was 60-70. After 21+ years of service, we have grown to 30-40 in attendance! You are a wonderful congregation, but I suspect you were wonderful before I arrived. When I have worked hard to prepare a sermon, and I think to myself, “God is really in this message,” only to learn that many of our members decided not to come that Sunday, it is discouraging. They were not sick or traveling. They just decided not to attend.
I also struggle with feelings of inadequacy. If you don’t believe me, ask Marie.
There are days I think, “The problems here are not the congregation’s fault. I am the problem. I do not work hard enough. If I had more commitment, I could help this church grow.” Sometimes we pastors feel so weary of trying to do good that we want to throw in the towel. Many pastors do just that. They give up and leave the ministry. It can be a wearisome task.
What about you? Do you ever get tired of trying to do the right thing? Does discouragement ever set in as you strive to follow Jesus? Does it sometimes seem that the harder you try to be a faithful Christian, the more your troubles increase? Do you feel inadequate as a Christian? Do people seem not to appreciate the service you provide? Do you sometimes feel very weary in trying to do what is right? All of us need to listen carefully to our text.
Paul understands a principle that we must also understand. Saying and doing the right thing can take time and effort. It is often more exciting to say or do the thing which comes from our human nature. Gossip can be fun and exciting. Verbally abusing persons we dislike can give a sense of satisfaction. Whispering in secret against another person can feel so right. On the other hand, speaking words of kindness and doing good deeds can become burdensome. Sometimes our good deeds go unnoticed, we do not receive adequate praise, or our kind words seem to fall on deaf ears. We grow weary, and we feel like giving up.
When you grow weary in well doing, it is good to stop and ask yourself a fundamental question: What motivates me? Why am I working to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Why do I spend time in prayer? Why do I try to do good to others? Why do I try to serve Christ through my church? Sometimes our weariness grows out of a wrong motive. If we are serving Jesus and doing good for the glory of God, we will press on no matter how weary we feel. If we do good to gain honor and recognition for ourselves and find that we are unappreciated, weariness will wear us down. We will give up.
But make sure to hear the rest of the story. Paul assures us that in due time we shall reap a divine reward if we do not give up. The principle will always hold: we reap what we sow, if not immediately, in due season, if not in this life, in eternity. God is not mocked. Evil will not finally triumph. Goodness will ultimately be rewarded.
Someone wrote these words to encourage us not to give up:
“People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of having selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
The good you have spent years in building may be destroyed overnight. Do good anyway.
Give unto God your very best, and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give God your best anyway.
Speak the truth in love, and some will mock you as a self-righteous do-gooder. Speak the truth in love anyway.
Some will think you are foolish to try so hard to follow Jesus. Follow Jesus anyway.”
I cannot help but think of Winston Churchill in this context. In the battle of Britain, the British people began to feel that defeat was inevitable. The German war machine had so easily conquered most of Europe, and England faced regular bombings by thousands of German bombers. The RAF fought valiantly, but they were vastly outnumbered. Invasion seemed inevitable. Churchill pleaded with President Roosevelt for aid, but America was in no mood to engage in another European war. Fearing that the British navy would fall into German hands, the United States encouraged Churchill to transfer his navy to Canada. He refused. He encouraged his fellow citizens to fight on and to believe in victory. Churchill always had hope and never gave in to defeatism. On the radio, he declared, “Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”Many historians give Churchill much credit for England not simply giving up. His courage was contagious. He knew the right thing to do, and he persisted.
In 1955 Churchill was near the end of his life. He was physically weak. He was asked to give a commencement address at a British university. He was so weak that he had to be helped to the podium. He stood clinging to the podium for several minutes, his head down. Finally, he looked up and spoke once again in that familiar voice that had called Britain back from the brink of destruction. It was his last public address. Let me read his entire speech to you. He said, “Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.” Then he went back to his seat. There was a long silence, and then the audience rose to their feet with a thundering ovation.
This is Paul’s message to us today. When it comes to doing good, doing the right thing, being faithful to God, never give up. Sometimes, when we look at our world with evil present on every hand, we may feel like doing good is useless. Paul wants us to look beyond this world and remember that there is a God and a day of judgment. Osama bin Laden and Sadam Hussein shall reap what they have sown. Mohammed Atta and the others who slammed jetliners into the world trade center shall reap what they have sown. Those who perished in the twin towers shall reap what they have sown. You and I shall reap what we sow.
And so Paul concludes by saying in effect: therefore, in the light of God, in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, looking forward to the Day of Judgment, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are in the household of faith. Our little deeds and words of kindness are like a molehill in a world filled with mountains of evil. Why even try? Why not just give up? But as believers in Jesus Christ, we must never forget that goodness will finally win the day, and evil shall finally be banished from the universe forever and forever.
I suspect there shall be many surprises in heaven. Some of those esteemed to be great in the eyes of the world may not rate so high in the eyes of God. God’s heroes may consist of unknown people in Warsaw, MO, whose names will never be recorded in the history books, persons of faith whose primary aim was to follow Jesus and to do good. God will reward their goodness. The reward is not eternal life. You can’t be that good. Eternal life is a gift purchased for us at Calvary by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, God does reward goodness just as surely as He punishes evil. Jesus promised to reward goodness at His Second Coming. Matthew 16:27 says, “For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” Revelation 22:12 says, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” Luke 6:22, 23 promises a special reward for those who find that their good deeds only bring them persecution: “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”
Brothers and sisters do not grow weary of doing good. God notices, remembers, and assures us that whatever we sow, we shall reap. We may not now be able to imagine how God will reward faithful service. Whatever those rewards are, they will reflect the love, goodness, and greatness of the God who gives them. In your service to Jesus, never give up, never give up, never give up.
