Family Friday: Stay Faithful

Written by Krista Marasco

I Corinthians 15:58  “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

While my husband was pastoring a church in Hawaii, we had people over to our house quite often. We would have Bible studies, birthday parties, disciple new converts, and have visitors and church members over to dinner. I enjoyed having people over very much, until I felt it had backfired on me. One day I found myself sitting in my kitchen, bawling. A lady that I had been discipling, dropped out of church, and another member for whom we had recently had a birthday party at our house stopped coming. I had opened up my heart and home, and all I had to show for it were bugs... in my kitchen. They were roaches, actually, and I found one in my silverware drawer, of all places, that morning. I was pretty beside myself.

Later that afternoon, my dad, who is a missionary in Haiti, called me. It was perfect timing. He asked me how I was doing, and I told him that I had never felt so unappreciated and used. I was tempted to never allow anyone in my house again, and I told him so.

He then told me of a few different circumstances in Haiti that they had faced. Let me tell ya, talking to someone who lives in a third world country will definitely put life into a different perspective. Then he told me this...

"I Corinthians 15:58 says ‘Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.’ We have to remember that everything we do for the Lord is just that... It's for Him. The Devil would love to make you think that all those hours discipling, decorating, teaching, inviting people to church, loving people, or making dinners or cakes was a waste, but the Bible tells us that it's never in vain. People are going to let you down. We have to remember what Jesus did. He stooped, and washed Judas Iscariot's feet right before he betrayed Him. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him, but he did it anyway."

Wise words from my dad have encouraged me to stay soft-hearted and tough-skinned, instead of being thin-skinned and hard-hearted. Don't listen to the Devil when he tells you that you were foolish for loving someone. Stay faithful! Everything you do for God is never in vain, and it matters very much to God.