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DO NOT GROW WEARY OF DOING GOOD

"We are naturally lazy in the duties of love, and many little stumbling blocks hinder and put off even the well-disposed. We meet with many unworthy, many ungrateful people. The vast number of the needy overwhelms us. We are drained by paying out on every side, and our warmth is damped by the coldness of others. Finally, the whole world is full of hindrances, which turn us aside from the right path." (John Calvin)

So what the Bible does here is say, "Don't grow weary in doing good." Then it reminds us of motivation. What is our motivation in doing good? Let's look at the next line. "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." So he is saying, "Here's why you don't grow weary in doing good to people who are thankless and cold and walk in a sense of entitlement.

Because when you were thankless and cold, God extended grace to you. God did good to you when you did not deserve good."

We don't do good to others for reciprocity. That's not why we do good. I'm not doing good to others so they might get that I've done good to them and they might return that favor. Doesn't Jesus attack that idea that if you just give to those who can give back to you, you're no better than the tax collectors and Pharisees? You're no better than the Gentiles. But that's us. We are Gentiles.

Our motivation for doing good to others is that good has been done to us in Christ when we were not worthy of that good.

So if your standard of doing good to others is only to do good to others who can return that favor or who will be unbelievably grateful for your good deed done to them, it's coming out of a wrong motivation in your heart. The gospel frees me to do good to all men, even the exhausting ones, maybe even especially the exhausting ones. I'm not saying that doesn't take quite a bit of prayer and asking the Lord for more mercy, but that's the command.

- Matt Chandler

KEEP ON!

Mack Tomlinson

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