Faithfulness

https://odb.org/MY/2023/06/14/texts-troubles-and-triumphs

In the Christian world, as much as we say that we do not want to be conformed to the pattern of this world, we are still attracted to the snazzy, slick, and flashy. So, to some of us, brilliance triumphs faithfulness. We could perhaps understand this more for music and song, but when it comes to preaching, we should always look out for what God is speaking in spite of the delivery.

I feel faithfulness is the better virtue to aspire to, mainly, because it has less to do with our God-given talents but points to our preserverance and discipline, both of which may be cultivated as we grow in God and mature in our faith. For example, we may not speak so eloquently as a preacher, but if we persevere on, people will grow to appreciate the spiritual message that we share. Even with worship leading, we may not be the best of singers in the congregation, but with discipline and a consecrated life, we may bring the life of God and His anointing into our worship leading – bringing transformational changes in lives as the Spirit ministers and uplifts us in worship.

On the day of the Lord, what we are so much looking forward to hear is that we have been a good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23). Faithful is pistos in Greek and speaks of being truthful and dependable. Meaning to say that we have done the task or responsibility given us consistently over a long period of time. Faithfulness denotes years. We are no flash in the pan. We are that pan, always ready for our owners to cook a nice meal. Do people change their pans every other day? No, people use them for years.

When we read Hebrews 11: 32-40, we cringe in horror the persecution some of our fellow brethren had to go through at that time to preserve and protect their faith. How could they have done so well in such suffering? Because they had placed their hope in something much, much better in Christ Jesus. Faithfulness means we are willing to pay the price to follow Christ. We may or may not be rewarded in this life, but we will nevertheless stay the course, undeterred by the discomforts that come our way. We refuse to take the easier path. We refuse to betray our Lord. We want to be true to Him. We want to be dependable for His sake. We want to be pistos unto Him, for He is our Saviour and our Lord and God.