Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

There’s something very engaging to me about TV or movies with courtroom drama. I grew up watching Perry Mason whenever I had the chance, but it was on every day at noon while I was at school. So one benefit of being sick was eating chicken noodle soup and watching Perry Mason. I loved how he would always see past the lies and uncover the truth, getting the real killer to make an emotional confession. Now I know that courtroom confessions are very rare. It takes a lot of work for a prosecuting attorney to get a guilty verdict. The attorney must work with the police to present enough material evidence to the judge and jury. If the attorney is able to present sufficient evidence, the defendant will most likely be convicted. If you were put on trial for being a follower of Jesus would there be enough evidence to convict you? Just because a person calls themselves a Christian isn’t enough. There must be sufficient material evidence. Our faith and our faithfulness is the evidence. In fact, our faith is the material evidence that God exists. There are many other things that point to God, such as creation and the amazing order of our world. But, the faith of God’s people is substance and evidence that can’t be denied. All the fruits of the Spirit are motivated by love, including faithfulness. Some people mistakenly take great pride in how faithful they are. There is a tendency with this fruit to shift into duty. Duty is not necessarily a bad motivation, but a close cousin to duty is resentment, and it’s an easy shift to make. The obligation to do what’s right when others are not doing what’s right, breeds martyrs. “I’m the only one that really cares around here. Don’t mind me. I’ll just keep working away while you lounge around.” It is a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude that stinks of self-righteousness. The person who is faithful out of a genuine love for others is a treasure crafted from heaven. They