Faithfulness and obedience

Devotional, week 4

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (Rev 2:10, NIV) 

In the business world achievements are often measured in numbers. Questions like “How many customers do you have?” and “What is your annual revenue?” point back to figures which indicate the level of success. The same kind of questions are often applied when we evaluate church life or our personal impact. Frequent questions we ask are: How big is your church? How many people got baptized last year? What is the impact of your spiritual life? How many people have you led to Christ? Such questions may be valid, but they may also lead us away from God’s purpose.  

Jesus does not point to numbers when he defines Kingdom success. Instead, he focuses on faithfulness and obedience. “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me,” he says in John 14:15. Nowhere is this faithfulness more visible than in the persecuted church. Many of us have a lot to learn from our suffering brothers and sisters.  

Some years ago, a Christian village in Myanmar, close to the border of Thailand, was demolished by the authorities. The people in the village managed to flee but lost all their belongings. When they returned to their destroyed community some time later, the first thing they established was a place where they could worship God. On the wall they put only one verse from the Bible: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (Rev 2:10) 

Let us pray! Lord, help me to see success as You see it.