Stand Fast!

 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13

I never knew what my life would look like at forty-two years old, but at least I can live with my own decisions up until this point. My choices have had differing results, but nothing I’d call a “curveball”.

My relatives, on the other hand, have made unexpected decisions which have left me scratching my head in bewilderment.

One relative, a parent with small children, has become a homosexual. Another relative has decided to “transition” from a male to a female. One relative has divorced their spouse after 20 years of marriage and five kids…now they’re dating a “new age psychic medium”. Another relative is a hermit and convinced that we live in a digital “matrix” computer program and that “nothing is really even real”.

Here’s the bewildering part: In the past, each of these relatives had professed faith in Jesus Christ and/or attended good churches. I thought that would never change and that they would always be aligned with the teachings of Christ…boy was I wrong!

Now things are different, and my family is mired in dysfunction. Each of these family members have supported the others in some form or another, encouraging the sin and confusion. Those, like me, who refuse to accept their sin are labeled “judgmental”.

Friends, Jesus Christ is a rock firmly planted in the ocean surf. When you climb upon that Rock, there will be harsh waves of worldly confusion and sin crashing against your feet in an attempt to wash you off that firm foundation of His righteousness.

Stand fast! If those closest to you leap off the Rock and plunge into the depths of sin…don’t let their flailing faith and sinful lives knock you into the surf, also.

Stand fast! Be gracious and kind. Pray for the lost, but never give in to accepting unrighteousness and worldly sin. If all the world is gathered against you as a Christian, just continue to live for an audience of One. Pleasing God, not man, is what matters today.