Fair Weather Followers

1Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. (KJV)

Are you a “fair weather follower”? Do you stand strong in your faith and loyalty to Christ only when everything is going well, and no problems loom in your life?

One of the chronic arguments against God is that if there were truly a God, He would not allow _____________ (fill in the blank). There all sorts of excuses including tragedies, losses, suffering, and hardship. However, that question could be turned around: Do you think that God would preside over a fairy tale world without challenges? Do you think that because God allows humans free will and choice to do good or evil that somehow He has abandoned His creation?

 

The Bible makes clear that God expects us to represent Him well when things are easy, and when things get hard. He is God on the warm day of summer, and during the winter blizzard. The real question is not whether God still presides in a difficult world, but rather--are we still faithful when our world faces challenges and difficulties, when hardships enter our lives?

Luk 18:8 He will surely hurry and help them. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find on this earth anyone with faith? (CEV)

I have seen a number of people over the years who attend church, smiles on their faces, and appear to be the perfect followers of Christ. Yet when something changes at the church they dislike, or when they feel they have been slighted, they turn against the church, and might never attend church again. 

 

Others are faithful just so long as no terrible challenge or tragedy comes their way, but when hardship arrives, they blame God and turn aside from the faith that would bring them through their storm. This is a “fair weather follower”, one who appears to be a loyal and faithful follower of Christ, but then turn against their beliefs, or no longer serve the beliefs they once claimed when the weather in their world gets stormy. 

Christians are sometimes easy people to offend, we can become far too touchy, hyper-sensitive to slights, perceived or otherwise, and there is something wrong with that. We are founded upon the Rock, a blood-bought, covenant-made people of Jesus Christ. We ought not to be weak and fickle in our faith. We must never be fair weather followers of God. We are called to be better than that, and with the Lord's help we will be.

Dear Lord, we will face difficulties in this world, and we would rather not have to deal with problems, but no matter what comes our way, please help us to be steadfast, faithful followers of You. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

copyright 2016