FIRM AND FRUITFUL
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye knew that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
I Corinthians 15:58
We have here a good combination of firmness and fruitfulness. Some saints impress us with their fixity of belief, their sturdy orthodoxy, but they seem not to be abounding in God’s work. They are like tombstones, not trees, by rivers of water. Paul gives us this double-barreled idea again: “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:7). Rock-ribbed and radiant! Alas, the steadfast are always singing and the singing are not always steadfast!
I suppose we shall always have the unmovables who do not joyfully abound and the abounding who do not always abide, but blessed is the man who achieves by grace a good synthesis of both. Grounded and grateful! True and thankful! Steadfast and singing! Abiding and abounding! Theology and doxology!