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| Volume 25 Number 11 November 2023 |
Page 6 |
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| Volume 25 Number 11 November 2023 |
Page 6 |
Robert Johnson
When we purchase a product, whether that may be an appliance, an electronic device, an auto, furniture or whatever it may be, one of the factors that we consider is reliability. While this quality used to be taken as a given in the assembly of just about everything one could buy, today it is not. Today, people are becoming more concerned about getting the most value for their money, meaning whatever is purchased is expected to deliver on one’s expectations for performance and endurance.
If we apply this principle to people, we typically do not use the term reliable, but we could. Instead, the term consistent is used often. In our post-Covid world, where the need for workers has increased greatly, having individuals working at all seems to be a rare quality, and being consistent workers is highly important. The quality of being consistent in the quality of one’s work has become rare. Such characteristics of people, and their interaction with each other, have become woefully absent of consistency. There is a failure, not only of the work ethic, but regarding interpersonal relationships, too. Marriages lack faithfulness or consistency by those who enter that relationship in ways that were unimaginable not long ago. Children need parents to be consistent, in both love and positive, constructive discipline. To be inconsistent in these areas of life has become a major problem for jobs, families and society as a whole.
When it comes to the nature of and the response of God, consistency has always been a fundamental quality of His dealings with us. Can you imagine the chaos that would result from inconsistent gravity? What if the orbit of the earth was random from one day to the next? Imagine being woefully short on oxygen? Spiritually, what if God continually wavered on our salvation? We expect consistency from our God, and we receive it! It is an essential element of His nature as God.
As His children, then, and created in His image, what type of people are we to be for the Lord? Many people’s view of God is what He offers to us, not what we should offer to Him. Consistency isn’t always easy, but even in the environment in which we live today, people still recognize its value. In reality, should we really wonder if a couple is neglectful or inattentive in their marriage whether their marriage will suffer? Why, then, should we think we can have a casual relationship with God and still find God’s blessings for us, now and eternally? Many may deny the validity of the Bible, but its teachings are still God-breathed, and they are still binding. The words of Scripture are still of God and of His Son (Romans 10:17). Furthermore, they are still consistent and reliable. When He said one must be immersed to be saved (Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21), He is consistent in saving those who do so. It is consistent to have an obedient faith (Hebrews 5:9; James 2:20). It is consistent to know that keeping our Lord’s commandments is a sign of our love for Him (John 14:15). “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17 NKJV).
Perhaps many have decided God has become our servant rather than the other way around, allowing them to choose what to do or not to do. Perhaps spiritual matters are less of a priority than physical concerns. Perhaps people’s souls just aren’t really important to them at all anymore. None of these change the reality of the Judgment and the standard by which we will be judged (John 12:48). I am not questioning the times we aren’t able to do what we want but the times we choose not to do what we ought to do. Faith in Christ is best seen in our everyday lives, doing our best each day for the Lord. As God offers His best to us in Jesus, what are we willing to give to Him? A consistent faith and life in our Lord declare to a world looking for a better way what love for Him is all about, as well as what that love receives in return. Let us be consistent in living for Him who gives us everything. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
[Editor’s Note: Brother Johnson’s article, put another way, calls upon souls to seek salvation and, after they are redeemed, to demonstrate their Christianity with conviction and conversion. There appears to be a grave shortage of true conviction and conversion even within the church in our time. Consequently, statistics predict that over the next few decades that the Lord’s church will diminish numerically until there remains no more visible existence of it in public. I hope that you find this as unacceptable as brother Johnson and I do, and you want to do something about it – even if doing something takes you out of your comfort zone. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
