Faithfulness – March 15, 2021

Brad Harris

March 15, 2021

Faithfulness. When I chose this topic I reflected on the many different uses of the word. When I think of being faithful in my marriage, it means that my wife, Erica and I, are committed to each other. Then there is being a faithful sports fan. For 33 long years, I’ve been a faithful Bengals fan. I root for my team every game, knowing that typically by the third or fourth game of the season I’m already dreaming that next year will be ‘the year’. I have a faithful senior dog. Whenever I walk into the house, even if I just went into the garage to get something, he comes running up to greet me as if I’ve been gone for months on deployment. I have two children who believe I’m a faithful dad. I will help them with projects, be there to love and support them and give encouragement and discipline when needed.

When I consider the word faithfulness, often times I think of it being a descriptor for a narrow topic, husband, father, sports fan, voter, etc. In our modern world, faithful comes to mean someone or something that is reliable, loyal or dependable. But how about faithful as used in our relationship with God? As I thought about this, my simple self came to realize this is a complicated word.

As a Christian, I believe that the triune God is always being faithful to me. I believe that through Jesus, God is always there to hear my prayers or hopes or concerns. Through His death and resurrection, He is always ready to forgive me when I fall short of the glory that He wants of me. In addition, I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to connect me to the spirit of God. The faithfulness of the Holy Spirit is always there to fill me with wisdom to open my heart and mind to the Word and hidden meanings within the Bible.

But am I faithful back? What does God want of us as far as ‘faithfulness’ is concerned? This is where it gets more challenging for me. Being a faithful Christian may mean many different things to each one of us. For me, being a faithful Christian means going to Church regularly, bringing up my children in the faith, praying daily and reading regularly either the Bible or books about our faith. Those are pretty easy.

But being faithful also means defending my faith or sharing it with others. In our modern society, it’s hard to sometimes share our faith in ways that won’t turn others off. How about being a faithful giver? Do I give to the Church financially what I’m capable of? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. Do I live as God would want me to? Am I as faithful to God as I want God to be with me? Being faithful involves more than just an act of faith. It requires a commitment. It requires constant work. I believe that God realized that the journey of faithfulness would be difficult for us on our own. But, together, through family, friends, and small groups in our church, we can connect with others to help us on our road to faithfulness. We will fall short at times but the goal should be always striving to live the life that Jesus showed us.

Let us pray.