Speak Up In Faith, Stand Firm In Truth
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<Paul wrote,> (18) Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, (19) holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.’ (1 Timothy 1:19)
The Apostle Paul, in writing this to Timothy, was imploring upon him to remember his Faith; the ‘prophecies’ made about Timothy, to come true, had to have Timothy remain in Faith. If Timothy had strayed, then those prophecies would have been false. In the same way, the choice we make on whether to stand for Christ or not when faced with opposition will determine whether the ‘prophecies’ that are written for us become true or false.
The world is becoming a darker, more sinister place. It may be safe to stay home, sit on the couch and watch TV or nap. There are no confrontations to be concerned about there, until someone knocks on your door. This happened with the Jews in Germany, it happened with the Tutsis in Rwanda; there was little pushback or alarms of concern. People stayed at home and ‘complied’ until that knock on the door came.
The lack of pushback resulted from a lack of Faith; a failure of underestimating the power that God has. To see evil transpire and say nothing is a lack of Faith. Not all Germans wanted to eradicate the Jews, and not all Hutus wanted to kill the Tutsis. Like the American Revolution, it was 3% of the population that actively supported the call for independence. Had just 3% of Germans spoke up in support of their Jewish neighbors, or 3% of Hutus spoke up supporting the Tutsis, perhaps these holocausts could have been prevented.
Today, we may be close, within years, of a similar situation in the US; it almost happened with the unvaccinated, it almost happened with conservative parents. It is happening now on college campuses with Jewish students. Hold onto your Faith and maintain righteousness by doing the right thing and support those who are righteous; if we become tolerant or compromise with sin, we will lose the cultural battle – and perhaps lose it all in persecution.
Can we do it individually? If we must, even if it seems we’re all alone. The Chinese man standing in front of the row of tanks; he stood alone, and he may have later been killed or jailed, but his actions sparked hope in many in China, in Hong Kong, and around the world. If one righteous man stands up, God will honor that. How much better will it be with greater numbers, even more than ‘3%’? We all must stand together and stand for Christ!
