Who is the most respected and guarded human? For us Americans, it's the President. As an elected official, he gets paid well (maybe not as well as some), takes nice vacations, is respected (for the most part), and is highly protected by secret service agents. He has a hard job, of course. Now take that apply it to our spiritual lives.
For us Christians, what about our Lord and Savior? Do we pay Him well? Are we tithing like we should? Are we giving Him our time like we should? Do we support and help our church, His church, like we should? Do we love one another like He commands us to do? Do we protect his Word, His church, and his people like we should? The answer, in general, is No.
Imagine what it was like for Joseph and Mary to be responsible for the safety and care of the son of God, Jesus Christ. That's a tough job. But if God can use people like Joseph and Mary, who had very little, to take care of Jesus, imagine what He can do with us if we allow Him to. I know I don't allow Him to use me like I should. I strive daily to be the Christian He wants me to be but, flesh and the Devil can crawl in and tell you "No, He doesn't need all that. He's God. I can do what I want sometimes."
What's it going to take for you to stand up strong for Him? Our church and church family have faced many struggles. We've had members leave. We've had people talk about us. We've had people verbally attack our Preacher and his family. I'm sure that's not so uncommon as we want to realize or believe. What does it take for us, as a congregation, to say, "Enough is enough. We will not allow you to take away from what God has done here. We will not allow you to bad-mouth and gossip about our Preacher and his family or any other member of this church. We will stand together strong and support each other. We will pray for those who fight against us and for those who need God's love and grace and mercy. We will continue to allow the Lord to bless us and use us and fight against our enemies for us."
Not only do we do this within our own churches, but we should do this within our community and throughout. You can't stay in your little bubble and expect things to change. We can't see the entire picture for our lives, but the Lord knows it. We just have to follow. Do what He wants you to do.
