Cheerful Giving (11/04/24-11/05/24)

It’s a very brief passage we have before us, and at first, might not seem to have a great deal that needs exploring.  But there was one item from the TEV that caused my antenna to go up, as it were.  Translating the latter half of verse 15, they have, “you were the only ones who shared my profits and losses.”  Now, I don’t entirely agree with that understanding of the verse, but it was a queue to have a look at the wording.  There’s something there.  And indeed, the term elsewhere rendered as giving is a financial term, and one that describes what we might think of as a debit account.  Of course, in our day and age, that immediately has us thinking ATMs and the like, and the rather casual, cavalier relationship we have with our accounts.  So, shake that part from your thoughts.  Indeed, I don’t think the idea of a debit account helps all that much here.  The only connection is in the idea of making deposits and withdrawals from some fund pool.

The closest I could come to a bank account here is in the nature of what some of us may have as arrangement with our children, where we can more readily transfer funds into their account, should need arise, though we could by no means make a withdrawal.  That, other than the order of paternal relationship, is more in keeping with what Paul is discussing here.  This matter of giving and receiving consisted entirely in them giving and him receiving.  Certainly, this was true so far as the fiduciary aspect goes.  And I would advise us against viewing this as payment for services rendered.  Had that been their mindset in giving, I don’t expect we would find Paul commending the action.  It goes against his whole philosophy of ministry.  But we’ll get to that in the next section.

There’s another way this, and passages like it, get to be misunderstood, and that is when we start to view it as an investment strategy, to look at our own giving with an eye to the ROI.  You know, we are advised to take such a perspective as we contribute to our retirement accounts, or as we compare banks or what have you.  Where can I put my money to best advantage?  What’s in it for me?  This is the thinking the world around us trains us to exercise.  But what we have before us is something entirely different.  There’s no place for a what’s in it for me attitude here.  There is no for me.  It’s simply a matter of seeing the need and responding.  This was not giving so as to receive.  It was not ‘seed planting’ as proponents of the health and wealth gospel like to speak of their giving.  That’s not giving at all!  That’s more like a bank loan made to God, upon which you fully expect and intend to make demand of repayment with interest.  I have to say, such a mindset seems very likely to arrive at the last day and hear, “You had your reward in full during life.”  Go hang out with Jeeves.  That’s not the line you want to be in.

So, let me back up before this accounting stuff.  “You shared with me.”  That was more than being sympathetic to his situation.  That was more than a quick prayer tossed off, more, even, than long and heartfelt prayer sessions on his behalf.  They may have been pounding the doors of heaven, but they weren’t satisfied with that.  They took action as they could, and they did so, we might note, repeatedly.  What may be surprising to you – it was to me – is that this matter of sharing, of making his need their own, comes to us in a form of the word koinonia, fellowship.  We’re fine with fellowship when it means hanging out and chatting together, maybe sharing a free meal together.  If we’re just talking about social get togethers, maybe small groups or the like, cool!  Even those of us who are more introverted by nature can probably find space to participate in that.  But this goes beyond.  This fellowship is deep enough to be aware of others’ needs, and cares enough to feel those needs as one’s own.  It’s not enough to make sympathetic noises.  It’s not enough to say, “I’ll be praying for you,” and then get back to your own life.  The spark of concern lights a fire of response.  Let me get that for you.  Here, take this.  I’ll bring a meal for you, I’ll be our transport, your delivery service, whatever it is you need that I can do.  I can’t be satisfied unless I know you are cared for.  That’s the depth of relationship that is in view here.

But I will make one adjustment to the picture, perhaps fix our vertical hold, for those of you old enough to remember such things.  This business of sharing the experience of our brother, of giving to meet their need, or for all that, our experience of receiving when in the place of need, moves beyond the realm of ‘I,’ or ‘me.’  Whether on the giving end or the receiving end, the perspective we are called to have is one fully aware of God’s intimate involvement in the exchange.  We have koinonia because God is acting to make it so.  He has arranged the environment for it, by calling us together as a body, a unified, living organism sharing life together.  He has rendered us useful in that conglomerate body, ensuring by design that each one of us has something to contribute to the function of that body, and each of us comes with needs that others can address by their contribution. Truly, no man is an island in the body of Christ.

Now, if I can, I want to take us round the other side of giving.  When we consider God’s provision, it tends to be in a very personal respect.  God provides for us.  We might expand to recognize that God provides for His church, a matter that comes into particular focus in times when we are seeking a new pastor or embarking on a church plant or other such activities.  These are big undertakings, and can be costly.  Chances are, we did not begin the process with a clear sight of who or how to achieve the result.  But we prayed and found the course correct, and then we pursued.  And pursuing, we continued to pray because the way was not yet evident.

But here’s the thing.  God’s provision, when it comes, does not typically come out of the blue.  We don’t encounter things like manna coming down out of heaven, or ravens dropping off meals for us.  We don’t discover a stream of water fresh sprung from a rock out back to supply our thirst.  But we find provision has been made.  And how has it been made?  God, in the general course of events, provides through us, through believers, moved by the Spirit, inclined to give of their means to support the needs of ministry.  Again, I could turn to this trip coming up Friday.  How is it that I am able to go, or those others going with me, how are they able?  We are not charging those churches we are visiting for our services.  Indeed, we come with the materials needed for our students, and with other goods given for the needs of those churches beyond that of such discipling as we can offer in so few days.  But flights don’t come for free, nor lodging, nor food, nor the materials needed.  But various people of God, seeing the kingdom opportunity presented by this trip, were moved to give of their resources in order that we might have what we need, and have as well sufficient to be means of provision in our own turn.  No, that doesn’t quite capture it, does it.  We, at most, become as they have become, instruments in the hands of God through which He is providing.

What I am saying, then, is that often times, I would suggest the vast majority of times, God provides through us rather than to us.  We are the means by which He acts.  This makes sense, doesn’t it?  We are, after all, His servants, stewards of the Gospel, as Paul says to the Corinthians (1Co 4:1).  That’s part of that mystery he spoke of in the last set of verses, of being full yet hungry, of having an abundance.  That abundance isn’t just so we can be at ease and enjoy our toys.  It is positioning us to be instruments of God’s providence.  All that we have is by His hand, not so much ours as entrusted to us, and entrusted to us for a purpose.  That purpose is to be sought in our Lord, and our giving should always be by His direction.  If it has become rote performance, it has become pointless.  If it’s just another bill like any other, perhaps it’s time to stop and look at what we’re doing and why.  And if we put in our regular offering and just decide that’s enough, this and no more, then again, where is the cheerful generosity in that?  It’s a duty and no more, or worse, a way to counter the prompting of the Spirit when He’s urging us to greater involvement in the work of His providence.

Giving isn’t to be an obligation, a necessity to be resented even as we comply.  It is to be a joyful participation in the work of the Lord.  In our business meeting last week, the matter of electronic giving came up again, in particular because of the cut taken by the company that enables that giving.  Now, obviously, any such company is not operating as a charity, and must turn a profit to remain in business.  But the size of their portion seems rather to negate the value of the giving.  Oh, it is objected, but some do not have checks to write.  Okay.  And?  Cash is still an operable solution.  But for me, it’s more a question of to what degree it remains an act of worship when you just go to the website, fill in the blanks, and hit send, or what have you?  Honestly, I have enough of an issue with the fact that, since I am generally serving in music ministry as the collection is taken, my giving has to come before or after.  And even with that, though it’s done at the church, loses something.  It’s hard to be worshipful about slipping a check through some slot in the wall.  It’s just another detail to be attended to in the morning.  What about the writing of that check?  Does that feel worshipful?  I do try to keep it first amongst the week’s checks, but honestly, no.  I’m in bill-paying mode.  But there is something in the communal act of giving, just as there is in the shared participation in communion, that stirs us in a different manner.  We’re beyond the business end of the matter, and into the meat of it.  It’s no longer a task, it’s an action undertaken in the presence of God and for the glory of God.

Here is a chance, you see, to be a part of what God is doing.  Here, however few talents I may have to offer in the workings of the church, whether I ever preach or teach or go on a mission trip or even help out in the nursery, is one way in which I can be part of His activity.  I can be a means of provision.  And I know that whatever it is I may be willing and able to give, He can multiply it to His purpose.  Let me take it yet another step.  God allows that we might be the means of His giving!  Again, what have you got that He did not give?  I’m not going down that path of, “You didn’t earn this.”  That’s not the point.  But however much you have worked to earn your living, Who has been responsible for setting you in that workplace?  I have been watching a brother of ours who has been striving to find employment in keeping with his longstanding vocation, but seemingly to no avail.  Why is that?  I don’t know, beyond saying that it is apparently not God’s plan for this stage of his life.  We can write it off to employers disinclined to hire older workers given the reduced ROI on their training of such a one, or the likely costs that attach.  We can decry that as unfair or unwise on their part, recognizing the wealth of experience they are setting aside by such a decision, but we must also recognize the wisdom, such as it is.  They’re right.  However good the candidate, his hire would inevitably mean they’re going to be back in the process again in a relatively short time.  Now, that might come about with a younger candidate as well, but it’s not a given.  And the likelihood of absence due to illness or what have you does increase with age, like it or not.  So, yes, there are clear and obvious factors working against you here that need not be cast in some evil light.  It’s good sense on their part, unless you have a truly compelling story that makes their advantages in hiring you outstrip the evident disadvantages.

But get beyond the business transaction.  Your every employment, and your every lack of employment are matters of God’s provision.  If this door has been closed, what is He opening up?  Are we perhaps insisting on a direction which He has not endorsed?  Should we maybe cast our eyes upon Him, see where He’s pointing?  It’s not likely that we’re going to get blatant signs.  But we need to remain prayerfully attentive.  And, in situations such as this, we need to shed our preconceptions just a bit, stop assuming we have the map in hand, and consider the surprise answer, if you will.

Okay, that’s gone directions I hadn’t expected, as so often seems to be the case in these morning times.  But back to my main point.  God is at work.  He is at work in our every circumstance.  That is the resounding assurance of Romans 8:28.  Whatever it may look like to you at present, the fact is, that these things are working together for your good, you who love the Lord and have been called according to His purpose.  Sometimes, that provision doesn’t look as we expect.  Sometimes, we need to come around the other side of it and see that God is provoking us, as it were, to be the provision.  That, I might observe, demands awareness.  How can we provide the need if we are not even cognizant of the need?  How will we help if we are just vaguely present in His house?  I mean, it’s well and good that our attention is on Him as we come to worship Him.  But He calls us to do so in community.  Why?  Because part of worshiping Him is loving each other, and a large part of loving each other consists in actually getting to know each other, knowing what’s going on in one another’s lives, where the needs are, and then, not merely mouthing a promise of prayer, though we assuredly should pray for one another, because our needs and our situations do have an impact on how available and attuned we are for service to our Lord.  But move beyond that, and perhaps, in your prayers, ask God how He would have you to serve to meet that need.

God allows us to have a part in His provision, to be instruments through whom He can act.  This is amazing!  I know I speak of this often, but I do so both because I need the constant reminding, and because the wonder of it does not lessen with age and experience.  God does not need you.  He does not need me.  If I were to simply stop sending in my check, the church would not cease; the work of God would not come to a stumbling halt.  Had I not found the desire to undertake this trip to Africa, the church in Africa would continue and would thrive.  God’s provision would not have been somehow cut off by my unwillingness.  No.  God knows me, and He knows how to move me.  God knows you, and how to move you.  He has known us both since before the beginning, and our foibles have long since been accounted for in His plans.  His will shall be done.  Period, end of discussion.  You can be a part of it, a vessel of blessing, an instrument skillfully played by His arts.  Or, you can be a dead tree fallen across the path of His purposes.  His purposes will proceed regardless.  His word shall accomplish all that for which it was sent.  But there is a blessing, a blessedness to be had in knowing that we have been rendered useful by our God, enabled to take part in His work, and to see our efforts rendered fruitful by His arts.

Lord, I need this mindset.  I need it always.  But I need it in particularly going into these weeks ahead.  It would be too easy to fall into patterns of self-drive, of just doing what seems right to me.  It would be easy, as well, to be proud in my presentation, rather than loving.  It would be easy to rely on intellect and preparation, rather than remaining sensitive and aware of Your leading.  Let that not be the case.  May we all, who are going, be close-coupled to Your Spirit, eyes open to Your direction, and hearts firmly gripped by Your desires, that we may be vessels in Your hands, Your means to achieve Your ends, no more and no less.  This is our story, whether we are aware of it or not, but I pray that we would indeed be aware, and rejoice in the awareness.  Let all the glory go to You, for all that shall be done, if it is to have any value, shall have been done not only for You, but by You and through You.  Use us as You will, and forgive me if I have in any way acted contrary to Your intentions in the preparations of this trip.  I am Yours, and I set myself fully at Your service.  To the degree I am able, I do so not just for this trip, but for all things, home, work, elections, church, whatever the arena.  I am Yours.  Use me as You will, and let my will be found in You.

Godly Receiving (11/06/24)

Now, if there is godly giving, there is also godly receiving.  It will not do to simply accept what is given as if it were your due, not to treat those who give as if they were inconsequential to the matter.  Yes, God deserves the glory and the thanks, but so, too, do those who serve according to His good purpose gladly deserve thanks for their glad service.  This isn’t about puffing folks up, or speaking flattering words.  It’s about showing gratitude, true and heartfelt gratitude, even as we, would wish to perceive such gratitude from those to whom we are gracious.  And that’s what Paul does here, though he is being very careful throughout this section to balance expressions of gratitude with avoiding any sense of grasping or chiding or anything else.  You are doing God’s work, and I thank you.  That’s it.  Your generosity does not go unnoticed, not by me, not by God.

But recognize also that nothing in Paul’s thankfulness, nor of his admitting to need contradicts his claimed contentment.  Contentment is something quite different than being resigned to your situation.  Contentment does not necessitate ignoring our circumstances, or pretending our wants are not wanted.  What it calls for is trust in God.  If God has set us in this place, He has purpose in it, good purpose.  If the place is hard, and there are godly means of improving that situation, nothing precludes you doing so.  Seeking improved circumstance does not in itself indicate lack of contentment.  Insisting on it, making demands of God, or taking to violence or theft or what have you in pursuit of making a change?  Yeah, that’s going to be a problem.  But that would be a problem regardless of circumstance, wouldn’t it?  Sin is sin, and frankly, circumstances do nothing to alter that.

We have this perspective expressed so often today that we ought to forgive the crime given the circumstances of life that criminal experienced.  Oh, he’s just trying to supply food and clothes for his child, and he’s jobless.  Yeah, maybe.  But there are other ways that do not require theft and robbery, and you know that as well as I do.  So does he.  The Christian is not suddenly permitted to dismiss civil law simply because it inconveniences him, or because he disagrees with its requirements.  The Christian is called to perceive civil law as subservient to God’s law, implemented by Him for His good purpose.  That may be harder to see in some seasons than in others, and to be sure, there is that boundary, when civil law requires of us that we break God’s law, which absolutely requires that we recognize civil law has having lost its authority.  I would argue that those churches which insisted on meeting during Covid lockdowns despite civil demands to the contrary were in fact upholding the law, insomuch as civil law was demanding that God’s law be dismissed, for I do think the command to come together in worship is of God’s law, and not mere opinion.  And it is not a thing lightly to be set aside because it proves inconvenient or unpopular.  But that’s a gripe, perhaps, for another day.

Here, I want to explore the intersection of receiving and contentment.  What it comes down to is that recognition that what has been received has been by God’s Providence.  In this instance, as Paul describes their participation in his need by sending to provide for his living, I don’t observe any obvious means by which he had communicated to them any sense of his need.  He hadn’t sent along a fundraising letter.  The only record we have of him doing any such thing was on behalf of the church in Jerusalem, and that, quite without their involvement. Yes, he called the churches to participate and share as a community to meet the needs of other churches in that community.  You see in them a need that you are equipped to provide, so serve!  Be the instrument of God’s provision to them, not that they may then be indebted to you, but rather, that they may glorify God for providing.  There is that instruction, which my brother reminded me of last night, not to be giving so as to be seen doing so, not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Mt 6:3-4).  That’s fine.  But that doesn’t mean we must never be seen to be giving, does it?  The widow throwing in her two mites was still seen to be doing so.  But she wasn’t doing so in order to be seen.  There’s a difference.

This had come up, I will note, as part of a discussion about giving as part of worship, or as an act of worship, which it surely ought to be.  The question concerned how significant it was to be doing so in the context of gathered worship, as opposed to, say, online giving, or mailing it in, or what have you.  I admit that I have rather strong feelings on the matter, fundamentally grounded on the point of it being an act of worship, every bit as much as our singing together, or taking communion together, or sitting together under the exposition of the Word.  For my part, I simply don’t see how these alternate means of payment retain any sense of worship.  Yes, they provide almost as well as doing so by cash or check.  But there is something about the participatory aspect which, at least in my view, elevates the experience beyond duty to a praise.  Maybe it’s just me.

Back to contentment.  What we do know is that Paul did not rely on giving to support himself.  He worked and worked hard.  He makes note of this in bringing gentle correction to the church in Thessalonica.  “You recall our hardship.  We labored hard, night and day, so as to ensure that we presented no burden to you to whom we were proclaiming the gospel of God” (1Th 2:9).  We weren’t billing you for our teaching hours.  We weren’t charging admission.  And we weren’t idling away, counting on the Philippians to come through.  They did, and that, more than once, as he says here.  It still gives me a sense of wonder that this was so.  It’s not like Paul was sending messengers back their way with news of his bills, or of anything else.  News of his presence there might very well have traveled back to them, but not so much in regard to his needs.  It’s almost as if they simply assumed he could use some cash and sent it, and it may even have been as simple as that.  But I am more inclined to think the Spirit of God had impressed upon their hearts a sense of those needs that went unmentioned.  Hey, guys, send him something so maybe he can be more rested for his preaching, okay?  And they did.

But Paul, for his part, was perfectly content to ply his trade by night so as to preach by day, or perhaps it was the other way round.  Whatever it takes, Lord.  That’s his mindset.  Just so’s the gospel goes forth, and nothing I do becomes a hindrance to its being received.  Just so nothing in my habitual way of living tarnishes Your good name.  Then, I am content.  And I am thankful for Your provision, whether through my labors, or through my brothers.  Thank You for providing.  Thank You for using them, and letting them feel the joy of being useful to You.

The Nature of the Church (11/06/24)

I want to wrap up this study with a few observations in regard to the church in Philippi.  The first is a general observation that gives perhaps some explanation as to why Luke seems more inclined than other writers to note the role women played in the ministry of our Lord and in the early expansion of the Church.  The prominence of women in Macedonian society was clearly a distinct difference between their perspectives and those of patriarchal Israel.  We see it in the first planting of the gospel in Philippi.  Who is present at the river for prayer?  It is the women.  And they are thus first to hear and first to respond.  And Lydia, as just one example, is so bountifully converted as to immediately offer her residence as a base of operations for these travelers.  With both Philippi and Thessalonica, we read of many influential women being amongst the initial wave of believers come to faith.  The ISBE includes the slave girl whom Paul freed of possession as another example, but I’m not sure how that fits in.  Did she become a convert?  We aren’t told.  But it’s clear that women played a strong role in the church, perhaps even serving as part of the deaconate, though many would resist any suggestion that this conclusion is warranted.

Why bring this up at all?  I don’t know.  It’s still a debate that continues in the church, just what roles women ought to be permitted in the administration of church affairs.  Are they suited to the role of elder?  How are we to take Paul’s comment to Timothy about not allowing women to have authority over men?  Was this just residue of his Jewish upbringing, or is it the Holy Spirit instructing through him?  What of that whole business with headcoverings and so on as he addresses the church in Corinth?  Was that just dealing with their specific cultural setting, making sure there was not confusing of pagan practices with Christian?  Perhaps.  But if that’s all it was, I’m a bit surprised we have it preserved for the church in all ages.  But this much can certainly be said.  Whatever bounds may be set on serving as officers of the church, or having official position, it is clear that women have always had their place in ministry, and are as highly regarded by our Lord as any man.

I suppose I might notice, in the circumstance, that while there were many women traveling with our Lord and supplying their needs from their own wealth in some cases, when it came time to select his Apostles, all of them were drawn from the men.  Mary Magdelene and others were clearly important to Him, and clearly just as loved by Him as those twelve He chose.  Yet, they were not chosen.  And no, I don’t think this was just a bit of cultural accommodation on His part. 

Okay.  So, make of that what you will.  I will settle for this, office does not render one somehow more important in the body, nor does lack of office leave you less significant.  It’s not about achieving honors or something of that nature.  Indeed, he who would attain to office in the church sets himself to be servant to all, and if a candidate were to put himself forward, or be put forward as deserving it as though it were a matter of being his turn, or a slight of some sort that he has not yet been considered, I would account that as a strong negative indicator.  The one who thinks he deserves the office clearly doesn’t.  Something’s wrong there.  I would say the same of women who make loud demands that it’s time they were given the reins.  The mindset is wrong, even should that office be accounted permissible.  You want to serve?  Serve.  Nothing’s stopping you.  But serve in obedience to those whom God has chosen to set in leadership.  Honestly, that’s no different than what is required of any man who is not currently in leadership.  They abide by the same instruction.  Serve in compliance.  That is all.  And give God thanks that you are able to serve, have opportunity to contribute to the growth and the development of His kingdom.  Don’t carp.  Thank God.

One last aspect.  The ISBE observes of the Philippian church that the record we have of that church in Scripture sets them forth as exemplary for generosity, for joy, for patient perseverance, and for active evangelism.  I would say that out of that list, the first two seem more clearly shown than the latter two, but so be it.  That there was persecution is rather a given, and that there remains a church in Philippi, as opposed to say, Corinth or Ephesus, must be some sort of testimony to steadfast faith.  But it got me to thinking.  What shall be the legacy of our church?  What shall be known of us in ages to come, should there be ages to come?  We could take that on the level of the local body of which I am a member.  We could take that on the level of the Church as a whole, whether in America, or in the West generally.  Though I think the wider you open the scope, the more varied the response must be.

If we speak of the Church in the West, we would have, first, to decide what counts as a church.  But I suspect that the overall state of the Church in the West today would compare rather unfavorably even with the Church of the Middle Ages.  Too much of it has devolved into unbelief, into little more than a social services agency, or a community center.  The Church in America?  Much the same.  Too much of it has been poisoned by false gospels of social conscience, or health and wealth teaching, or universalism.   Too many churches want nothing to do with Jesus anymore, just the title and the tax exemption.  But let us cut the picture back to include only those churches that yet retain allegiance to Christ and to His teachings as best they can understand and follow them.  We might term that the Evangelical Church, but even then, I suspect the scope is too wide, the definition too wobbly.

So, perhaps it is best to simply zero back in on our specific church.  Start local.  What are we known for?  Are we known at all?  Are we a generous church?  I think there’s evidence to support such a conclusion, though to what degree that is evident to society around us, I don’t know.  And I don’t know as that’s terribly important, to be honest.  The opinion or reputation that’s of concern is that which our Lord has of us.  That doesn’t mean we have total disregard for how we are perceived, but we must recognize that those perceptions will ever be imperfect, tainted by sin and by hostility towards all we represent.

Are we generous?  Is that what we are known for?  I think historically at least, we have been known more for depth of teaching, a sort of collegiate level congregation.  To be sure, at least in certain periods, there has been an inordinately large representation of engineers and educators and other such professional classes in our number.  And having sprung from a missions-oriented Sunday School class, no surprise that teaching and learning Scripture has factored large in our story.  Whether that still holds would be somewhat harder to say.  But I would observe that the outreach of which I am part, and for which I will be traveling, is primarily concerned with teaching the teachers, with establishing a firm, biblical foundation amongst them.  For the church there is prone to all manner of influences and unsound doctrines.  So, yes, I think that legacy still holds, even if it looks a bit different these days.

Are we known for joy?  I don’t know.  We’re New Englanders, and New England joy doesn’t really register, I don’t think.  It goes unrecognized because it’s not expressed in the way one might see, say, in Florida or California, or wherever.  It doesn’t have that easy congeniality, or the bubbly effervescence that might be found in other places.  Perhaps that’s why I’m so enamored of that definition of rejoicing as ‘calm delight.’  That really describes, I suppose, a New England sensibility.  It’s not that joy and delight are missing, it just expresses more quietly.

Do we persevere under trials?   Well, we’re still here, so yeah, I guess so.  That said, I don’t feel those trials particularly.  I know they are there.  There are illnesses and aging and the impact of sin and so on, as any other place.  Do those count?  I suppose so.  What about active evangelism?  I don’t know.  We go through seasons.  Sometimes it’s there.  Sometimes we’re more drawn inward.

I would say this, I guess.  If we leave a legacy of devotion to the Word of God, of worshiping in Spirit and Truth, and of opening our arms to all who would come and receive of our Lord, I think we will have done well.  If we continue to entrust our efforts and our direction to the leading of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then our legacy, whatever it may turn out to be, shall be well with us and with Him.