His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”  Matthew 25:23

This past weekend, my daughter and I performed the father daughter dance at her wedding reception.  It was not flawless, but it was fun and was, by the accounts of others, beautiful and well done.  However, those three minutes and thirty-one seconds of dancing were the end result of hours of instruction and practice.  Throughout the last few months there was a fair amount of perseverance for both of us.  My daughter was juggling work, moving, wedding planning, dance lessons with her husband, and at the end a sinus infection in addition to lessons with me.  For my part, the normal responsibilities of life, the extra activity necessary for the wedding preparations as well as getting our home ready for company and the frequent dance lessons caused by body to get too run down.  On one occasion my wife and our dance instructor ended a dance lesson shortly after we began because I was too fatigued to function well.  The Monday and Tuesday prior to the wedding, I was also struggling to do anything of value.  In short, the celebratory dance that was enjoyed was culmination of a fair amount of graceful perseverance.  It was a series of choices to take risks and rise above adversity to live well.  It was choosing perseverance.

Parable of the Talents

Have you ever considered how the Parable of the Talents  applies to you?  I have…often.  It regularly comes to mind when I feel like life is too difficult.  I find it to be an encouragement to persevere with grace rather than to just exist.  God has blessed me with abilities, interests, a wife, children, grandchildren, extended family, friends, assets and most of all, salvation.  How I employ them determines how well I live.  Merely existing is akin to the servant who buried his talent so that he wouldn’t lose it.  If I allow my illness and the trials of my life to keep me from living because fear or I feel that the effort or the risk seem too great compared to the benefits, I am wasting all that God has given me.  If I refuse to make the effort to live well, not only am I depriving myself of a fruitful life, but I am also depriving those whom I may bless in some form or fashion.

Mind over Matter

Graceful perseverance is an attitude.  True perseverance is not so much about physical ability or limitations, but rather how we approach life.  I love to run, but I am physically incapable of running a marathon.  Rather than give up running, I run when and how far I can within my limitations.  I am also incapable of being a competitive dancer or dance instructor, but I can still enjoy dancing.  Every dance that I attend poses the risk that I will get there and be sick and or be lethargic the next day. However I dance to bring beauty to my marriage and joy to myself.  Our illnesses may limit our physical abilities and our trials may weigh us down, but when we allow those things to inhibit our activities, impede our service to others, and eliminate the beauty in our lives, we waste what God has given us.  Further, when we allow our fear and limitations to impede our ability to live well, we also give Satan a foothold and set ourselves up to become bitter, angry and selfish.  Personally, I would much rather risk illness and physical impairment than spiritual failure. 

Faithful with a Few Things

Just as the dance with my daughter, my performance in life has not been flawless.  However, through my illness, God has provided the opportunity to help others who are hurting.  Every support group I lead or counseling session is a risk and wears me down, but I choose to serve others and my Lord.  For over 41 years Marie and I have persevered in our marriage.  We strive to overcome our differences and trials while seeking to live by the example of love provided in I Corinthians 13 because we want to be faithful to God’s precepts and to each other.  We do it in service to our Creator and as an encouragement to our children and grandchildren just as our parents did for us.  As I’m able I cook, garden, dance, listen to music, spend time with my family and friends, go to plays, travel, etc.  I do this so that I remain multifaceted and don’t, as they say, become my illness.  My illness is a trial and ever-present part of my life but it is not who I am.  Finally, I persevere in my faith.  God has blessed me in many ways; He has faithfully provided for and sustained me for more than six decades; my God has matured my faith while guiding me throughout my life; and Christ has provided forgiveness of my sins and promises eternity with Him.  In that light, how could I ever allow my trials and limitations to impede my relationship with God or cause me to squander the talents and opportunities to live and serve that He has provided?  In this I trust that nothing can separate me from my Father’s love.  Graceful perseverance rises to: serve our God and fellow man; be faithful in our marriages; enjoy and explore the interests and talents our Creator has given us; to draw near to God and endure in our faith.

Enter into the Joy of Your Master

Adrienne and I chose to attend our lessons because we trusted that the end result would be worth the effort.  It is a pale example of light and momentary suffering producing a great benefit.  God has given us much and asks us to take the risk and make the effort to live well for Him.  When we choose to graciously accept what His sovereign will ordains for us and gracefully persevere, we are promised the great joy of our Master.   Is God not faithful in His promises and is not the risk and effort worth the reward?  God is faithful and His promises are certainties, therefore, take the risk and make the effort to live well so that you may persevere with grace and enter into the joy of your Master for eternity.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Will

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