Loyalty, It Means Everything

I know this is probably going to sound very cynical but I believe that very few people that claim to have loyalty for you when times are good will still profess that loyalty for you when times get hard. I make that statement from circumstances that I find myself in at this time in my life. I think that loyalty comes from a deep sense of love for someone else. Loyalty puts yourself aside, your own desires to come to another person's aid, be it a friend, family or associate, no matter the cost. To believe the best when all the world might think otherwise. I think that Jesus did no less for us than when He sacrificed His own life because of His loyalty, His love for us. Think about it for a moment. The religious establishment hated Him because they cared more for their own traditions than they did the people. Their loyalties were to themselves and their own desires. The staff at the church of which I am a part of started a few years ago down the path of setting ourselves and our desires aside to reach the 87 percent of Orlando that does not go to church. We stated that our loyalties were with Christ and the only mission that He gave the church, which is to reach the lost. Most of the Christians that attended our church a few years ago agreed that the lost needed to be reached and that we as a body of believers needed to reach out to the un-saved and un-churched. Now a few years later, I am even more resolved to reach the un-saved and un-churched. Although my resolve and the resolve of our leadership team is as strong as ever, the resolve of 99 percent of the people that started with us has vanished. The very people that "loved, supported, cared, agreed and said that they would be loyal to the end" are gone. In fact most of these people are now in a campaign to destroy the church they were once a part of. As the fight to reach lost people became harder and as people were taught to put their own desires aside, this became to difficult and their loyalties were revealed. I believe that most people exhibit loyalty but only to themselves and their wants and desires. When loyalty calls on them to come to someonelse's aid at the expense of themselves, most can not stand. I am so thankful that when it came time for Jesus to put Himself aside to reach me that He did it. Christ was loyal. I also know that Christ will empower us to do His work. I pray that my loyalty to Him and His work stays strong. Loyalty, it means everything!