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Faithfully yours - Stories of love – part two

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Published on Sunday, February 14, 2016

By Neil Strohschein

The Neepawa Banner

When he accepted God’s call to be a prophet, Jeremy knew his life would not be easy. God had told him so. “I am sending you to a stubborn and rebellious nation,” God said. “They do not want to listen to me, so they will not listen to you. In fact, they will do everything that they can to either silence you or get you to retract the things that I will tell you to say to them.”

Although he knew what to expect when he preached, Jeremy had no idea how violently those to whom he spoke would react to his message. They mocked him, they turned and walked away, they threw things at him, they had him arrested, beaten and thrown in jail for a while. As soon as he got out, he started preaching again and before long, he was back in jail again.

After 25 years of this, Jeremy was getting tired. He wanted to drop out of sight, to retire to a quiet place in some remote corner of his world and leave his people to the fate that God had decreed for them.

But then he heard that voice; the voice he had heard every day for the past 25 years. “Get up, Jeremy,” it said. “Go and speak to the people and share this message with them.”

This time, Jeremy did not go quietly. “But Lord,” he said. “You know what these people are like. You know what they have done to me. They’ll do the same things again. They won’t listen. They’ll just have me arrested, beaten and thrown in jail again.”

“I understand how you feel and why you feel that way,” the voice replied. “But I want you to go and preach to the people anyway. Maybe this time they will listen.”

So Jeremy went and began to preach again. He kept on going, he kept on preaching and he kept on suffering until the day he died. But he never stopped loving and caring about the people he had been called to serve.

I have met many Jeremys in my life time. They share a lot in common with the Jeremy (his real name was Jeremiah) who lived and worked 500 years before the time of Christ. Some are pastors of difficult (in some cases dysfunctional) churches. Others work in communities that are openly hostile to everything the Christian church stands for. Theirs is not an easy life.

But like Jeremy (Jeremiah) they keep doing what they know they have been called to do. Every sermon they preach, every visit they make, every word of encouragement they offer is done with unwavering faith and unbridled optimism. Like Jeremy, they have heard the voice of God telling them that this may be the day when someone will take their words to heart and choose to turn from sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ.

What motivates these people? What keeps them going in the ministry? Love! They love the God who has called them to serve him and they love the people they have been called to serve. That love gives them the strength to endure the hardships and challenges of their work.

The Jeremys of this world are the unsung heroes of the Christian faith and church. We honor them today for their love, devotion and faithfulness to God and to his people. We support them with our prayers and we look forward to the day when they will hear Jesus say to each of them: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”