Glory is God’s Reply to Faith

Today’s reading: Philippians 1:3-11

I have a reputation for being a bit crazy. I regularly come up with big ideas to start projects, businesses, even ministries. And I’m rarely bashful about sharing these ideas with anyone who seems interested in them (and often with people who seem entirely bored or annoyed by them).

The vast majority of these dreams have yet to come to fruition, however. Hence my reputation.

I hope my first sentence shows that I’m not naive. Yes, I realize a lot of people think I’m nuts. But that doesn’t mean my ideas are bad.  (In fact, I often here this: “You have a great idea, Don! I love it! You’re just not going to get others to support it.”) The story of Moses is endlessly inspiring to me. His idea to march an entire society into the wilderness for 40 years was crazy too.  But I, for one, am glad he saw it through.

And what about Jesus? He knew he would be a dead man the moment he arrived in Jerusalem. Yet we’re all still reaping the benefits of that bit of insanity.

So I’ll just stick with my crazy ideas, thank you.  I’m confident God will put them to good use — in His time.  And I am grateful to Paul for reminding me (and all Christians) of that in today’s reading:

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”

Paul himself did a lot of crazy things, too. He wrote those very words from jail, afterall. And the church he wrote them too was one that started on less than a shoestring. (Imagine planting a church without benefit of a marketing plan or even a demographic analysis. Oh the insanity!)

And then there’s Noah, and Abraham, and David — and all the people Jesus healed. (I hope it’s clear to you by now, dear reader, that Jesus could not have healed anyone who had not been blessed with the crazy notion that healing was a possibility.)

I could write several books about all the crazy people in The Bible. Look at me! There’s yet another idea. Geez.

Next to the idea that Love is the greatest commandment, I think this might be the most important lesson of The Bible:  God sees all good things to fruition. He just sometimes takes much longer than our impatient spirits would like.

I often contemplate much easier (and quicker) Moses’ journey might have been had all (or even a few more) of his followers been equally committed to God’s vision for him.  And these thoughts selfishly turn to frustration over my own delayed projects.

It’s been a struggle to convince others to help me start a Christian-perspective newspaper, a thrift store that operates only on “love offerings,” a co-op that employs, feeds, and houses talented-but-homeless people, an internet radio station featuring independent Christian bands having trouble getting airplay elsewhere, a school that helps entire families bring God into their lives, and a network of back-yard gardens that can feed hundreds.  And those are just some of my wild ideas.

I’ve heard every bit of discouragement for these ideas that the Devil can dream up: not enough money, already been tried before,  too much work, too much competition, too much red tape, not enough supporters, not enough expertise.

But I, for one, know that God can overcome all those problems. (Nearly every page of the Bible has proof of that.) And I am confident He will. It’s just a matter of time, which, for God, is nothing.

Thanks be to God for always rewarding faith with glory. May my (and our) faith stay eternally strong.