Called to be Faithful

As I begin this blog and reflect on seven years of ordained ministry I am reminded of a scripture I have carried with me.  Paul writes to Timothy "I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service." (1 Timothy 1:12)  This scripture is a constant reminder that God has called us to be a faithful people as oposed to being succesful. 
This is important because what I often count as success is different from what God deems to be success.  Last Sunday our gospel was from Matthew 5, the Beatitudes.  Here Jesus describes the people of the Kingdom of Heavern.  They are the merciful, the comforters, the peacemakers, the persecuted, the poor in spirit.  These are not the kind of people the world considers to be blessed nor are these the type of people a worldly king would use to secure his kingdom and yet Jesus tells us these are precisely the people God chooses to build his kingdom.  I am convinced that as we move through the days and weeks ahead God will continue to use faithful people to accomplish amazing things in his name.