Continuing to Continue

~ Tracy Frederick

You know how sometimes just a short part of a scripture, just a few words can say so much? Consider these few words that describe the first church members: "And they continued steadfastly..." Acts 2:42. I hope you will take a moment to consider the full meaning behind them, that after they committed themselves to the Lord, they never quit. Just this little word "steadfastly" means so much. I am mindful of those who begin a task for the Lord with great enthusiasm and then after a little while, after the "newness" has worn off, their interest wanes and are looking for some other new great thing that will capture their interest. I often think of adrenaline junkies, those that need to always be on the move and doing something new. In this chapter of Acts, the church was new; the energy must have been high and the excitement palatable. I can imagine how they were anticipating the next meeting, meeting on their own, spending time together and always talking about their salvation and asking each other questions, encouraging each other. We often think how easy it would be to maintain that excitement if one was walking with the apostles. But, we should realize they had their own day to day struggles and commitments that were keeping their attention, were competing for their time with the Lord. But, they were described, by inspiration as “continuing steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine…”  Steadfastly means “to be earnest towards.” Ironically, it also means “to continue.” So, if you look at the opening to this passage, it says: “they continued to continue in the Apostles doctrine…” I like the way that sounds, it reminds me of “keeping on, keeping on.” They never quit, they never got bored with the doctrine. They never tired of the doctrine. They never stoped continuing.

Perhaps our difficulty in remaining steadfast to the work and seeing it through is another reason why we are describes so often as “little children” in the word of our Lord. We get some new shiny toy and play with it until we are bored. I hope we never bore in the work of the Lord. I hope we realize (and should after 2,000+ years) that the Lord is longsuffering (the epitome of love) and is patient to wait for all to come to the knowledge that He is God and bow in obedience. He is steadfast in His patience and love for us. I hope we understand that we are in a marathon, not a sprint. Therefore, we must “gird up our loins” (Lk 12:35, Eph 6:14, I Pet 1:13) and be ready for the long race (I Co 9:24, Heb 12:1) and not lose our energy, but follow the great example of our first brothers and sisters who continued to continue…to continue…to continue.