For all the saints

Saints keep going when everyone else gives up

Galatians 6:9 “…..let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”

There is a film called 'Faith Like a Potato'. It takes place in South Africa. It tells the  story of a farmer with an anger management issue who becomes a follower of Jesus. Needing to bring in money for his family, he decides to plant a crop of potatoes. The land is very dry. Most would think it was dead and no life could come from it. With no rain, he begins to question his decision to plant. So after a while of waiting, he and his farm hand decide to take a chance and dig, but first they pray.

As he begins to dig, what is revealed is astonishing. The seed yields crops twice the size of what is expected. How is that? He was looking for signs of rain, signs of growth above ground. All the while there was water running underneath the ground.

When Paul wrote this letter to the church in Galatia, he knew that they were feeling weighed down by the responsibilities of daily Christian living. Maybe you have felt this way before too. Paul writes the statement of not growing weary in doing good to uplift their spirits and give them encouragement. Even when the thought of keeping going seems pointless Christ calls us to cultivate an indomitable spirit.

Roald Dahl once wrote, “Some people when they have taken too much and have been driven beyond the point of endurance, simply crumble and give up. There are others, though they are not many, who will for some reason always be unconquerable. You meet them in time of war and also in time of peace. They have an indomitable spirit and nothing, neither pain nor torture nor threat of death, will cause them to give up.” 

As followers of Christ it is the indomitable Spirit of Christ within that enables the believer to keep going. Or in the words of Charles Wesley:-

Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees
And looks to that alone;
Laughs at impossibilities
And cries: It shall be done!

In the offering of our gifts,

as well as the living of our days,

may we not grow weary of doing what is right,

but commit to speaking up for the voiceless,

healing the broken,

feeding the hungry,

and all those mercies

which are such a part of your heart

and hopes for all your children.  

In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.