He that endureth to the end shaft he saved. Matt. 10:22.

Starting out on the Christian way is not all that is important. The rest of the journey counts even more. We hear a lot of talk about dropouts. It does not take much for people to enroll in a course. But it takes a great deal more to stay with it. Along the way there are a lot of opportunities and temptations to drop out. It does not take much courage to quit. It takes all we have to endure to the end.

We have far too many dropouts, people who once belonged to the church. Ask the pastor of almost any church. He will tell you he has a large number of names of people who have dropped out along the way. Why do people do that?

For one thing, if anything goes wrong in the church, for some people this gives them a way out. According to the individual, the church did not measure up; so what is the use? However, those who know Christ and have found in Him the satisfaction for all their needs are not easily moved or disturbed. Those who are easily shaken out have, most often, not been firmly established in the faith, have not been that serious about going the whole way.

Life for us is a continued journey into the light of Christ. We have staked our all on Him and on His truth. We have no intention of moving from that foundation. Each event and occasion provides us with the opportunity to move closer to the gates of heaven, to grasp ever more fully God's will for us.

These days there is an impression given that we do not have to do anything to be a Christian. It has an element of truth in that Christ alone has redeemed us and provided a perfect righteousness for us. There are two ways you can try to get people to become Christians. You can tell them that God does it all, that it is easy, that being a Christian is a very comfortable way of life. Or you can challenge them to a life of warfare, that we are a fighting force under the Captain of our salvation, that Christianity is a life for heroes. It demands the best of us, an endurance test; it confronts us with the greatest adventure known to man, that Christianity is a cause to live for, fight for, and die for.