Fall 1984
To Be Found Faithful and Willing
Mikki Vargas
Pinecrest Graduate

There are times when, in my role as housewife and mother, I become discouraged with what seems to be the futility of my work. No matter how many times I do the things required of me, they always need to be done again. Clean dishes become dirty again, as do clothes, floors and windows. Meals, no matter how carefully planned and how painstakingly prepared, are consumed in minutes, with its recipients expecting more of the same only hours later.

As I begin to see my role as a type of the Christian walk, however, it takes on much more meaning. Christianity is not something you receive in one day to merely sit back and let it take care of itself. Salvation is only “the wedding.” As splendid and glorious as that day may be, we must eventually come to the reality that if this life is to continue to be as glorious as its beginning, we must work at it.

We are all acquainted with wives and with Christians who have received marriage and salvation, respectively, only to use it as a “ticket” to complacency. For example: “Now I have a husband to provide and care for me,” or “Now God will keep me from evil and sorrow both here and beyond the grave.” These people do not want to contribute anything to their relationship and the result is that their relationship does not mature. Any relationship that we desire to be long lasting and fulfilling is worth our time and energy. Our relationship with the Lord, is especially worthy of our faithfulness in devotion, and our willingness in obedience to Him.

The kind of home a wife makes is determined by the amount of time and energy she devotes to it. She can slide by, using paper plates, sweeping the dust under the carpet, and setting out meals that come from a can. Or she can go to the opposite extreme and have a house that is so immaculate that no one, including her family, feels comfortable there. Proper balance would provide a clean, well-kept home with the aroma of homemade meals, and still enough time set aside for communion with each family member on a daily basis; a place where all who enter feel “at home.”

So it is with Christianity. We can elect to receive salvation and sit back desiring only to enjoy the benefits. Or we can become so engrossed in doing good works that we neglect communion with the Father. However, we find that our Lord Jesus Christ also desires balance in our relationship with Him. If we are to please Him, we need to be found “faithful” in what is at hand. At the same time, we must be “willing” to set aside time from our labors to commune with Him.

As a result of marriage, children come along. They bring with them the requirements of more time and energy. So it is in our walk with the Lord. If we desire to have spiritual fruit in our lives, there will come greater requirements of faithfulness and willingness on our part. Yet, in both cases, there comes greater fulfillment and reward, making it well worth all of our effort and devotion.

When we come to the end of your earthly journey, may we look back upon our lives, both natural and spiritual, and know that we have been found faithful and willing to be all that we could be in Him.