FIRMNESS, FERVENCY, FAITH
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord
As a former personal trainer, I’m a huge fan of body-weight workouts. Forget the machines and the new infomercial equipment; when it comes down to it, pushups and pull-ups are really still the most effective way to get one’s body in good muscular shape. Watch an Olympic athlete train, and it’s really all they do. Machines and equipment exist, because people want to get in shape in a way that avoids the body weight exercises. Hence, people have to keep coming up with new gadgets that supposedly help you get your beach body in 21 days, because the reality is that what has been will always be. People did pushups and pull-ups back then to get in shape, and the people who consistently do them today are also the ones who will get in shape. These body weight exercises are difficult, because they require the body to be two things that most tend to see as mutually exclusive: firm and fervent. Doing pushups and pull-ups – and a lot of them – means that one has to both keep his core muscles absolutely firm will furiously pumping his upper body muscles to increase repetition. Sacrifice firmness, and you risk injury. Sacrifice fervency, and you gain nothing. And there’s the mindset – the belief that though one sees little results after the first or even second workout, that what he’s doing is indeed building him up slowly but surely.
It’s a human tendency to categorize people into certain compartments regarding character that we feel as mutually exclusive – particularly in the areas of firmness and fervency. When it comes to members in the church and the ministry that they engage in, Christians are often characterized as one or the other. Some are known as the firm ones – the ones who are steady in their convictions, who are faithful to showing up, who are always on time, who never seem to budge. They’re not thought of as particularly excited or energetic, but at least they provide stability to the church. Others, however, are characterized as the fervent ones – the passionate, energetic Christians who seem to run at a high-octane tank and fuel the fire in the church. They’re not thought of as particularly reliable or steady, but at least they keep the energy level up and keep the church moving forward. While it is surely true that each believer carries his own set of strengths and weaknesses, it’s unfortunate that we tend characterize both ourselves and others in such a way that produces thinking that having one characteristic means not being able to have the other. Are firm Christians necessarily going to lack fervency? Are fervent Christians necessarily going to lack firmness?
The Bible speaks of both of these qualities in a singular thought. Paul, exhorting the Corinthian church to live in light of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, says: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” First, he calls them to be steadfast and immovable. In other words, they were to be firm. They were to be firm in their labor, in their ministries, in their laboring for the Lord. They were not to be tossed here and there, and be flaky in the way they sought to engage in the work of Christ. Yet, they were also to be fervent in their labor. They were to be always abounding – fruitful and passionate in their ministries. The call to be firm and the call to be fervent are, then, a singular call. Firmness and fervency in the Christian minister of the gospel are not two qualities that oppose each other, but rather two qualities that assist one another. In the same way that keeping one’s core firm allows one to do more repetitions in his pushups, so being firm in one’s convictions and principles and ministry allows one to fervently abound in it. A Spirit-filled man or woman is not one who characterizes himself as one or the other and is content to remain that way, but one who obeys God by seeking to have both in perfect unity complementation.
How, then, can one attain both qualities? How can one mature such that he, in his work for the Lord, is not only characterized by staying power but also by an abounding passion? Paul answers with this: “knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” A Christian can only exhibit firmness and fervency in his labor if he, in his heart and mind, exhibits faith. He must be mindful at all times that while the world may think that his labor in the Lord is a waste because it outwardly costs him worldly accolades and approval, his toil is not in vain. He must remember that the Lord who created the heavens and the earth and is sovereignly building His kingdom is not unjust as to forget his labor, and promises to reward him when he passes into eternity. He must remember that his labor in Christ is of eternal value, and that he will reap what he sows when all things come to an end. He must remember, in short, that his labor is not in vain. He must be assured of that which he hopes for, and convicted of that which he does not see. Such faith will surely produce a combination of firmness and fervency in one’s life that communicates to all around him that he is filled with none other than the Spirit of the living God.
Therefore, I say, be firm and fervent in the work of the Lord, believing in full faith that your Creator and Savior will reward you in the last day.
