Árdís - 01.01.1964, Síða 14

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ÁRDÍS
works and glorify God. Men must be able to recognize God working
in us or our goodness accomplishes nothing.
Could this be one of the weaknesses of Christianity today, that
we who profess to be Christian are not willing to give God the
glory that is His due? We may reword this thought and say:
Whole-hearted dedication on the part of God’s people for the work
of His kingdom is essential for vital Christianity.
There are too many half-hearted Christians in the world. Per-
haps we are among them at times. They are imitation Christians.
Imitations, of course, are challenged and criticized. Someone has
described these half-way Christians as those who have been inocu-
lated against getting the real thing. They have been immunized
by a small dose of Christianity and prevented from getting a good
case of it. They don’t enjoy or feel comfortable with what they
have nor are they willing to go all the way. They lack the power
that would make their religion real and vital.
There may be those who say that Christianity has lost its
power, that it is worn out and out-moded. We never need to wonder
if there’s enough power in Christianity to keep it vital. The power
is there. It’s always available, an unending supply. The fault lies
in our lack of application of the power.
The story is told of an elderly man who lay sick in the hospital.
He worried that he didn’t have enough money to pay his expenses.
A friend suggested that he write a cheque and then he would get
his bank book brought up to date, for he had been careless in his
entries. Finally the sick man was persuaded to write a cheque and
was overjoyed when he learned that he still had a balance of over
$1,500. “How foolish I was to worry,” he said. “I just needed to
have my books brought up to date.”
Does this make you think of the way we often are, spiritually
“broke” because we fail to know or acknowledge the resources that
are ours? Just think, the power that raised up Jesus from the dead
can work through us as well. Christianity making full use of avail-
able resources certainly could not be criticized for lacking vitality.
Thinking this way don’t you wonder why we ever feel weak,
weary, lonely, or inadequate in our Christian living? Christ is able
to satisfy every need, to supply us with what is essential for vital
Christianity. Looking back, we are discouraged. Looking ahead,