The Lonely But Not The Only

I know I said I wouldn't be back blogging until the 9th January....but I'm in Dunsborough at Dunc's parents' place.....and they have internet access.....AND I've been totally tempted by the fact that the Christian Blog Carnival is on this week.

Have you ever felt like the only Christian in existence? In reality, you know this isn't true but when you're in a workplace, family or uni class where you're the only Christ follower, it sure can feel this way. All of the workplaces I've been in, I'm sure I've been the only Christian. It can be hard to continually grit your teeth and endure ridicule for your faith, knowing that it is Jesus they are persecuting and not yourself. It also can be difficult and discouraging when there are other Christians present who are sinning recklessly and don't seem to care.

But the reality is that though you may feel alone, you AREN'T.

Although you may be the lonely one, you are definitely not the only one to have ever felt like you are the sole crusader for Christ. There are many others in the same situation who are battling on, humbly trying to live Jesus' way and it's easy to slip into self-righteous arrogance, as if you are the only faithful servant God has at his disposal.

In reality, there are more Christians out there than we know; faithful, godly people who are serving the Lord, encouraging one another from the Scriptures and keen to see others know him. There are churches beyond the social circle you mix with that are reaching out to their communities with the good news about Jesus.

I get annoyed when I hear Christians badmouthing churches they know nothing about simply because they assume that the only faithful churches are the ones they know of. I once heard someone say that Christian uni groups (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students) are what will spread the gospel and teach the Bible faithfully in Perth as if all churches and groups besides them were heretical. How stupid to think that God will only use you or others you know! What foolish ignorance!

In 1 Kings 19, we can read of the prophet Elijah sitting down under a tree dismally and when God asks him what he is doing, he replies, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." He says this twice and, in other words, he's basically saying, "I'm the only faithful one left, God. All of the other Christians have sinned against you and I'm the only one who still follows you." (1 Kings 19:10).

God does not indulge Elijah's self-pity. After telling Elijah what he must do, the Lord says in verse 18, "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel - all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him." Instead of sitting and weeping about how faithfully we have served the Lord all by our little selves, we too should acknowledge that God has many people working for his purposes. We are not alone. We are not the only faithful ones. Our church is not the only church faithfully preaching the word of God. Sometimes it may seem you are the only Christian in your workplace, but in large workplaces there may be more Jesus followers than you think. There are individuals and churches out there who we may not of, they may not be on our radar of 'good churches'....but they are there and God is using them.

We may never see the results of others' labour. We may never see the results of our own. But God has reserved a people for himself and from that we can be encouraged.