Jake serves in the church’s counseling ministry. He meets weekly with a young man who has a porn problem. They read Scripture and pray together. The counselee feels remorse and says he wants to change, but six months later, little or no progress has been made. Jake is discouraged.
Pastor Jim works hard on his sermons. He’s a good preacher. His church is growing, but he’s often frustrated by the many church members who come to church regularly, listen, and then go home unchanged. Their marriages don’t improve. Their parenting doesn’t change. They don’t handle their money differently. He wonders if all the work is worth it.
Shelby and Martha have three children—17, 15, and 12. They’re excellent parents. They never miss church. Shelby leads his family in devotions 3 to 4 times each week. Nevertheless, the 17-year-old says he doesn’t believe. His parents wonder, How have we failed? They feel like giving up.
RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT AUTHORITY
All Christian work is about responsibility without authority. Therefore, it’s easy to get discouraged. I say “without authority” in this sense—only God can produce the results we want. We want growing Christlikeness that proceeds from genuine heart transformation. And there’s the rub. We
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
