Pray and Push: On Faith and Perseverance
We are living in a time when everyone seems to be always out of time. Our generation lacks patience. We want instant gratification. Everything must be now. Are we there yet? How much longer must I wait in line? Microwave dinners, take-outs, texts instead of a conversation on the phone, summary of headline news instead of the whole article, blog posts, short tweets, and pictures, all point to a generation that has lost the power to persevere for what they want. The same goes for the faith community. We stutter a few words of prayer when desperation sets in and expect the heavens to open over us. It does not work that way with good parenting and it does not work that way with God. Instant gratification does not build character and God is after our growth in grace more than he is in our net worth because he is preparing us to rule and reign with Christ in the ages to come. Scripture reveals that faith is married to perseverance. It is the substance of things hoped for, and hope implies expectation, not immediacy, for if we get everything we want, when we want it, what is the purpose of hope and faith? The virtues of perseverance and faith are not enemies but companions, working in tandem to get us what we need. God is good and God will give good things to his children but we must be prepared to persevere with him for what we want.
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We are living in a time when everyone seems to be always out of time. Our generation lacks patience. We want instant gratification. Everything must be now. Are we there yet? How much longer must I wait in line? Microwave dinners, take-outs, texts instead of a conversation on the phone, summary of headline news instead of the whole article, blog posts, short tweets, and pictures, all point to a generation that has lost the power to persevere for what they want. The same goes for the faith community. We stutter a few words of prayer when desperation sets in and expect the heavens to open over us. It does not work that way with good parenting and it does not work that way with God. Instant gratification does not build character and God is after our growth in grace more than he is in our net worth because he is preparing us to rule and reign with Christ in the ages to come. Scripture reveals that faith is married to perseverance. It is the substance of things hoped for, and hope implies expectation, not immediacy, for if we get everything we want, when we want it, what is the purpose of hope and faith? The virtues of perseverance and faith are not enemies but companions, working in tandem to get us what we need. God is good and God will give good things to his children but we must be prepared to persevere with him for what we want.
