Pioneer Christian Monthly - September, 1980

Meditation
Cor G. Bons

"And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart" Galations 6:9

By the time you read this Pioneer the summer holidays have ended, and we have entered another season of labour and responsibilities. The children are back in school, many young people have entered College or University or started in the first full-time job, and the parents are trying to adjust to the regular grind of everyday life.

My own situation has changed, too. Since 1954 I have served the Reformed Church as a regular Pastor, but the Classis of Ontario in conjunction with the Council of the Reformed Churches in Canada has appointed me as Field Secretary. From now on it will be my task to coordinate and motivate the work of the Reformed Church in this country, and to exercise creative leadership in all areas of the ministry and policy making that affect the unity and the growth of the Church.

If any time is a good time to consider how to handle our responsibilities it is now. And I look for guidance to the Word of God and to the people of God. Paul writes in the Letter to the Galatians about Faith and Freedom. Christianity is the religion, he says, that makes us free if we are in the right relationship with God through Jesus Christ "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery". And he goes on to show what happens when a person allows the Spirit of Christ to guide him or her, and what the Church would be like if all her members were fully committed to Christ. There would be "love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control".

We all know, however, as Paul did, that in reality the Church is a brotherhood of sinners who find it extremely difficult to walk by the Spirit. We are all being tempted to boast and to be self-conceited. In contrast Paul's letter shows the attitude we would have towards our fellow-Christians if we really would let the Spirit rule our lives. He shows that Love-in-action creates great freedom, and opens up a new way into the future. And finally, Paul says that we must be in earnest about what we do with that new freedom in our lives. God gave us that freedom; now it is up to us to use it well. And "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap". If we base our lives on the principal that self comes first, we'll end up in spiritual death. If we let the Spirit of Christ guide our behaviour, the end-product is Life as God meant it to be.

This Letter says that we are God's farm-hands sowing seeds, working on the future of the earth; and God wants us as co-workers to sow the seed of freedom and new opportunities. God wants you and me to share in this Liberating work by living and walking by the Spirit, following in the footsteps of Jesus our Lord.

The way the world is going is the wrong way. At least twelve million Canadians are unchurched, and a countless number of people are on the way to destruction. The description of that road is clearly given: immorality, idolatry, jealousy, selfishness, party spirit, drunkenness, etc., etc. Millions are bound in the prison-house of sin.

And the Church is tempted to "grow weary in well-doing". Christians are postponing their activities to set men free, because of the high cost of discipleship, the high financial cost and the personal risk they would take by walking by the Spirit. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

But God calls you and me to put our full trust in Him. He cares, and He wants us to care, too. Do not lose heart, for the promise is the Harvest in due season.

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