Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11
Never flag in zeal? The very thought is exhausting. Who wants to be sentenced to a lifetime of “eagerness and ardent interest in the pursuit” of anything, be it a vocation or a fun sideline? How can one be ardently on fire for the Lord year after year, decade after decade, and not risk burn-out? Sorry, Paul … if only we had been blessed with your metabolism. Our zeal might flourish briefly with the appointment to some committee – our chance to have a crack at churchmanship. But when novelty gives way to the drudgery of coffee-stained minutes; when despite the sparks of enthusiasm nothing of lasting significance gets off the ground, we flag down the nearest excuse to transport us back to the cozy mediocrity from which we came in the first place.
Of course, Paul never said to get fired up in the explosive but fickle ways of mere idealism. We may want to light up the sky with a spiritual firework spectacular that attracts craned necks and crowning moments of revival. But what if God disdains such grandiose schemes and decides just to get a couple of flashlights at the local hardware store? If that sounds dull, picture the blackness of a cave. Its oppression is stunningly relieved by the light of a single candle. Better to be a flashlight than a flash in the pan. Part 1 of 2
Comment: Let’s face it, Never Flag in Zeal wouldn’t fly as a sermon title. So the preacher checks out all the translations of Romans 12:11 and settles on the version in the lingo that slides most easily into the modern ear: Do Not Be Lazy! When just a handful of the faithful sit through the first service, he texts the 11 o’clock regulars and promises to preach on Romans 12:12. “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” The trouble is that few of us want to be patient. I get antsy just staring at the microwave while the seconds countdown is on to soften ice cream or melt butter. Does “Zeal” imply hyper activity, while “Patience” smacks of twiddling one’s thumbs until something comes along that really grabs us? The wordsmith in me might be too hung up on precise meanings just now. Still, I’m not as bad as the French grammarian Dominique Bouhours. Lying on his deathbed in May 1702, his last words reportedly were, “I’m about to – or I am going to – die; either expression is correct.”
My spiritual ears perked up when I read the following in Devotions for a Deeper Life by Oswald Chambers: “The patience of the saints is not the patience of exhaustion, or the patience of pessimism, but the patience of sovereign confidence in almighty God.” The secret, indisputably, is to “be aglow with the Spirit.” In Israel of old, the temple’s altar fire had to be kept burning; “it must not go out.” Shouldn’t that apply to Christ’s Church worldwide and significantly, to every local congregation also? Ultimately then, all the “must” mandates listed by Paul in Romans 12:11-12 turn into profitable promises, when viewed through the lens of “being,” rather than “doing.” We begin by resolutely “owning” the BE ATTITUDES preached by Jesus in His historic hillside sermon, and then decide if “DO GOOD to those who hate you” is good enough for us “as is.” (Matthew 5:3-10;43)
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