Here's a true saying: As faithful as a dog is to his master, so a Christian should be to God.
Faithfulness has an eternal quality to it. A devotion. It is something that accompanies love. And there is a certain amount of sacrifice in there as well. Today's Fruit of the Spirit is #7 of 9 on our Fruit of The Spirit journey.
The first example of faithfulness that pops into my head in the Bible is that of Job. He did a lot of whining and complaining throughout the book but, even though trial after excruciating trial, he never gave up on God.
"In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." - Job 1:1
In a single day, Satan took away his camels, donkeys, and sheep, killed all his servants, and killed all of his children as well. Yet, this is how Job reacted:
"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised."
²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” - Job 1:20-22
Wow! Now that's faithfulness!
Another biblical example of faithfulness is Ruth. She stuck by Naomi when the going got tough. Even after Naomi told her to go back home.
"And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." - Ruth 1:15-16
Questions:
- Who, in your life, exhibits Ruth's faithfulness?
- What does faithfulness require from us?
- Jesus praised the "good and faithful servant." Are you worthy of such praise?
- What could you do today as an example of faithfulness?
- What does being faithful to God look like in today's world?
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