"And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men: for not everyone has faith." - Paul (II Thessalonians, 3:2)
Directing his words to the Thessalonians, the Apostle of the gentiles begged them for their participation in evangelical tasks, so that the service of the Lord could be exempt from wicked and evil men, justifying the call with the declaration that faith does not belong to all.
Through Paul's words one can perceive his certainty that evil men would be nearing the nucleuses of Christian work, and that their malice could cause them harm, making it necessary to mobilize the resources of the spirit against such influences.
The great converted one, in a few words, engraved an infinitely valuable warning, because truthfully, even though the religious color will characterize the exterior dress of entire communities, but faith will belong only to those who strive without measuring the sacrifices needed to install it in the sanctuary of their own intimate world. The mark of Christianity will be exhibited by any person; nevertheless the Christian faith shall be revealed pure, unconditional and sublime in rare hearts.
Many people desire its acquisition as if it were a simple promissory note, while numerous apprentices of the Gospel utilize it precipitously, as if it were an errant butterfly. But they forget that if the necessities of the physical body demand daily personal effort, the essential necessities of the spirit shall never be resolved by idle expectation.
To admit the truth, to seek for it and to believe in it, are the requirements for all; however, to maintain a vivid faith constitutes the divine realization of those who worked, obstinately, and suffered to achieve it.
Excerpted from Chapter 23 of "Our Daily Bread" - Chico Xavier (by the Spirit Emmanuel)
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