Are you fight or a flight person? Are you willing to fight for what you believe? Have you taken hold of your faith? Is your faith evident to anyone who encounters you? Are you willing to be ridiculed, ostracized, or even beaten for your faith? Will you die for it?
Most of us do not like confrontation. Even if we like to argue, it is not a true confrontation as we see it, but more of a debate or contest we want to win. When it comes down to a true test of wills, many of us will back down or at least will not take pleasure in it.
There are many things in this world which are not worth fighting over. It doesn’t really matter what color a room is painted. There is no long-term effect on whether we eat green beans or peas with our supper. But there are a handful of things we should stand up for.
We should be willing to stand up for our faith. It can be challenging. We may be ridiculed by others for it. We may be ostracized for it. We may even be beaten for it. Experiencing any of these can make us shy away from standing up for our faith. This is especially true if we are seeking to be accepted by a certain group of people.
Yet, as the Apostle Paul encourages Timothy to stand up for his faith, we also are encouraged to stand up for ours. How can it be easier for us to do so? It is easier if we fully understand who Jesus is and if we have a community of believers we belong to that support us. It is through the church that we belong to a community of believers and we can gain a better understanding of who Jesus is.
I pray we all stand up for our faith in Jesus. I pray we belong to a community of believers. I pray each one of us will seek to better understand who Jesus is and the importance of what He has done. Stand up for your faith. Take hold of eternal life. Be part of a community of believers. Support one another. Confess your faith.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Marty Pressey 