2 Chron. 13-14
God is faithful and dependable. Judah fights two battles in these chapters, under two different kings. Both times they are severely outnumbered. Yet both times they prevail. Why? “…because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.” (2 Chron 13:18b). Abijah wasn’t even whole-heartedly devoted to the LORD, but he still knew enough to depend on Him in a crunch. And God honored that, not for Abijah’s sake, but because that’s who God is. He is dependable, and when we genuinely lean on Him, He holds fast. But I would rather be like Asa, who “did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.” That’s right – God was his God, not just the God of his fathers, as was the case with Abijah. Let it be so for me.
2 Cor. 4
Everything that Paul did and endured was for the sake of sharing life in Christ with those who would receive the truth, knowing that they would be his life and glory in heaven. Perhaps it is they who will be the jewels in Paul’s crown that he will someday lay at Christ’s feet. Perhaps they are the treasures he is storing up in heaven. So what is Christ’s life in me if it does not, in some way, give life to others? If I am not willing to die to myself, to sacrifice or suffer, or set aside my own desires, for the sake of Christ and those who might receive Him, am I really letting Christ live in me?