Hold Your Ground

31 Oct

“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”  ~ Abraham Lincoln

God has called us to proclaim the Good News.  That is the commissioning that He gave His disciples before He ascended to heaven.  That is the commissioning that we receive at our baptisms.  However, too many people back down.  They do not proclaim the Good News.  They allow the world to bully them into silence.  Some allow the world to lure them out of the faith and into other practices that will not lead them to the Kingdom.

We need to learn to hold our ground.  We should not allow ourselves to be bullied into submission.  Rather, we should lead the way for the proclamation of the truths of our faith.  They are, after all, the most critical pieces of information that people need if they are searching for the way home.

Our world promises that it can help us find the way.  It tells us, if we give ourselves over to it, that it will fulfill our wildest dreams.  It will give us fame and fortune.  It will give us prestige and honor.  It will satisfy our cravings and lusts.  It will do everything for us.  And it can.  And it does.  It gives us everything.  Everything, that is, except what we really need.  It rips the road map to heaven out of our hands and steers us on a course heading to doom.

“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”  Lincoln’s advice offers us much if we heed it.  If we know that we are on the right path, if we know that we are doing God’s will, if we know that we are where we are supposed to be and if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, stand firm.  We should not let the world sway us.  Instead, we should be steadfast and offer a shining example to others who are looking for the truth and for the way.

Being a Christian has never been easy.  Being a Christian today is probably tougher than it has been for many a generation.  However, it is only in being a faithful Christian that we can hope to make any difference at all in our own lives and in the lives of others.

FAITH ACTION:  If you know that you are doing the right thing, stand firm, hold your ground, and ask God to give you the strength to continue.