Endurance

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  (Matthew 10:22)

  I was reading this last night and it occurred to me, for the 254th time, that a life of faith is meant to be a life of endurance--and that we aren't called to be fully developed by the time we get a driver's license or a mortgage.  There are definite marker points in our lives of faith, but overall they're called to be a steady process of maturing and growing--filled with moments of discipleship, the pursuit of a life lived with and for Christ.
 
  We aren't called to have it fully figured out at any one moment.  We are called to grow in faith--to work at it each day and trust that the Holy Spirit is working in and through us.  When we get frustrated because we don't have all the answers, we're like the Israelites crying out in the desert--they'd seen miracles, sure, but what had God done for them today?

  I long for my life to be filled with tangible evidence of God's presence.  And if I take the time to think about it, I recognize that it is.  His love and grace surround me--but often I don't take the time to think about it, because I get caught up in what I'm doing today.  I get caught up in it and start to believe that this life is all there is, that whomever has the most toys at the end wins.

  But then I stop, I slow down, and God redirects my attention to the lives of those in Scripture, those who selflessly gave so that Christ's church might prosper.  Their lives were filled with glorious moments, but also with the tough slog of discipleship--but they ran their face with faithfulness.

  May I have the courage to run my race, and I pray for the wisdom not to give up in frustration when I haven't reached the finish line halfway through the race.  I hope that I, too, may endure to the end.