Faithful

Your Word, O Lord, is eternal, it stands firm in the heavens.  Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.   
- Psalm 119: 89-90

     The amazing thing about this piece of scripture is that it was written thousands of years ago by a simple shepherd boy who later became a great soldier and king.  Throughout the ages, this very song of God's faithfulness has rung true to people of every walk of life. God has made himself known to kings of the earth, and to a dying thief on a cross.  Men and women of every age, color and class have known Him and his saving grace, and can attest to His goodness.  Some of the greatest and most influential people of all time have walked with Him and talked with Him, and - this is something that I will never cease to find amazing - I know Him, too!

    The faithfulness of God is beautiful.  He has always been and He will always be, and He never changes.  The Bible tells us that God is loving, merciful and just, and He always will be.  He is loyal, constant and steadfast. No matter what grievous sin a man or woman has committed, God is faithful to forgive when that person repents because He graciously paid the price for our sin with His Son.  Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 28, "And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age."  Moses encouraged Joshua so many hundreds of years ago in Deuteronomy 31, "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified…for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you."

    God's promises are many, and He has never failed to uphold a single one of them.  Men fail and fall short and discredit the name of Christianity as a religion, but God has never failed.  Try as people throughout the ages might, no one has been able to tar the name of the Lord.

    Human beings, by our own sinful nature, are not like this.  We, every now and then, have been known to do some noble and selfless things, but for the most part we are entirely selfish and self-seeking.  Often times, even when we do something good or kind, it might be for a selfish motive.  We become weak and lose heart and back down just when we are needed most.  We let down the people we love, and we let down ourselves. 
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    Husbands and wives are unfaithful to one another physically and emotionally.  Parents neglect their children emotionally and in every other way.  Workers are unfaithful to their employers in poor effort and lack of commitment to a job.  Citizens are unfaithful to their governments by not paying taxes honestly and by not voting.  Church members are unfaithful to their church home by not participating in the mission of the body with their time and finances.  We talk about friends behind their backs, and we can be bought for most anything with a very low price.  Faithful is not a word that could be used to describe the human race.

    That is what makes the work of the Holy Spirit so amazing.  Through the power of the Spirit, God imparts His faithfulness to us; we who are unable to be faithful on our own are changed. ​ 

   Think how different the world would be if Christians allowed the Holy Spirit to bring an increase of this fruit of faithfulness into their lives!  Faithful - never leaving, never forsaking, never even considering leaving or forsaking as an option. 

    What if Christians started being faithful as Christ Himself is faithful?  What if we suddenly began staying true to our wedding vows, and began raising our children with love, discipline and kindness?  What if we began serving our neighbors, our companies and our churches faithfully?  What if we began taking the Great Commission seriously and either gave heavily of our finances for missionaries to go, or went to the mission field ourselves?  

    The rest of the world would sit up and take notice if the church suddenly began acting like her Master.

    We lose much of our impact when we are not faithful.  The world will not look to us when we are no different, and the people around us have a much harder time seeing a true picture of Jesus when we misrepresent Him.  Our own children will not follow Christ if they leave our homes with the impression that Jesus has not the power to make life different.

    There is good news, of course!  The bottom line is that the Lord is different.  He is who he says that He is, and nothing will ever change that.  God is faithful, and His Spirit will impart this to us when we ask.  He will deliver us from our selfishness and unfaithfulness, and will help us become men and women who impact the world with the faithfulness of our God.