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Short Features Walk of Faith In the second Corinthian letter the apostle reminds us that our walk must be by faith. We must not plan to live a life of faith and then expect to do our walking by sight. From time to time we shall meet with difficult conditions, with perplexing circumstances, with a fork in the road, and it will not always be given us to see which is the preferable procedure for us to follow—which turn in the road to take. Of course if one way is sinful and the other is holy, if one follows the spirit of the world and the other the gentle, holy spirit of the Lord, the problem will present no difficulty. With our hearts in tune with the Master, we shall unhesitatingly choose the right. But sometimes matters are not quite so simple. Even the great apostle Paul knew what it was to be in perplexities (see 2 Corinthians 4:8). It will not be strange then if sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances where it is not always so easy to determine the better way. Such experiences may be ours in our individual Christian walk; they may be ours, too, in our Church matters. We know of no Scripture which assures us that we shall always, on every occasion, and at all times, know exactly the right thing to do in every personal problem that may arise. —“Have Faith in God,” The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom, December 1950
The Reasoning of Faith Thus it is that faith ever reasons. Faith reasons from God to the difficulties—it begins with Him. Unbelief, on the contrary, reasons from the difficulties to God—it begins with them. This makes all the difference. It is not that we are to be insensible to the difficulties; neither are we to be reckless. Neither insensibility nor recklessness is faith. Faith looks the difficulties straight in the face; it is fully alive to them. It is not ignorant, not indifferent, not reckless. But it brings in the living God! It looks to Him; it leans on Him; it draws from Him. Here lies the grand secret of its power. It cherishes the calm and deep conviction that there never was a wall too high for the Almighty God—never a city too great—never a giant too strong. In short, faith is the only thing that gives God his proper place; and, as a consequence, is the only thing that lifts the soul completely above the influences of the surrounding circumstances, be they what they may. Of this precious faith, Caleb was an exponent when he said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” These are the pure accents of that living faith that glorified God and makes nothing of circumstances. —The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom, November/December 1984
Paul’s Determination There are few such noble characters as Paul’s, unmoved by threats or fears, strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, and ready not only to be bound for Christ’s sake, but to die, if such should be the arrangement of the Lord’s providence on his behalf. Let us each and all emulate this noble example of one who followed so closely in the footsteps of our Lord and Master. Let us be strong, not only in our consecration, but also in the taking of all the steps that the Lord’s providence may lead us to take. The apostle’s argument was successful. He infused new courage into the hearts of his co-laborers, and they apparently resolved that if he were about to die or suffer, they, too, would rejoice if the will of God respecting them eventuated in their death; and if they did not suffer personally, they would, at least, have the honor of being companions of those who were misused for Christ’s sake, and thus be to some extent the sharers in the blessing promised (Hebrews 10:32,33). The apostle’s companions saw the matter as he did, that it was the Lord’s will; and they resolved to bow to it, notwithstanding that the Lord had given them information in advance which would have permitted them to turn back, or seek to save their lives. —Reprints, p. 3183
Citizenship Citizenship carries privileges which we may humbly claim. The apostle Paul himself furnishes us a good example of this during his last visit to Jerusalem. Asian Jews stirred up the people, saying that Paul had polluted the temple, and the captain of the guard intervened to stop the Jews who were beating Paul, and he took him under guard to the castle. Upon Paul asking permission to speak, the captain replied, “Canst thou speak Greek? Art thou not that Egyptian, etc.?” Paul replied that he was a Jew of Tarsus, a citizen of no mean city; and receiving permission to speak to the people, he spoke in the Hebrew tongue. This temporarily silenced the mob (Acts 22:2) and Paul gave a spirited defense of life and Christian mission until the uproar began again. Then the chief captain ordered Paul to be examined by scourging, whereupon Paul immediately claimed that he was a Roman. On learning this, the captain feared to hurt him, and loosed him from his bonds commanding the council to give Paul a hearing. Thus did Paul use his Hebrew speech, his Tarsus citizenship, and also his Roman, to obtain freedom to defend himself. But citizenship carries responsibilities as well as privileges—the responsibility to uphold the dignity of the country we claim. If the citizen of another country living among us claims special privileges and dignity, we may find that he is also an ambassador to us. He represents the king and country from which he came, and if ever questioned on his actions would claim his rights and the protection of his own country. Another visiting citizen claiming special rights while among us might be the king’s son. Surely we may claim all of these; so that we may read in Philippians 1:27 conversation, behavior, citizenship, ambassadorship, or sonship without destroying the sense of the verse. —B. J.
Drinkwater, “Fervent In Spirit, Serving the
Lord”
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