But the fruit of the Spirit is…faithfulness…. Galatians 5:22
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness: we’ve talked through each of things. Now comes faithfulness. What does that mean to you? Is it fidelity in marriage (or any relationship)? Is it being reliable? Loyal? Is faithfulness being true to the one you love? Is it being steady with a person or an idea or a task? Trustworthy? Is faithfulness being full of faith?
You know the answer.
Yes. Each of those questions is a part of faithfulness. Being faithful means being singularly committed to one person in a relationship. Being faithful means being reliable, loyal, trustworthy, true, and steady. Being faithful means being filled to full with faith.
Perhaps that last one is the biggest one for me. The Bible is full of the accounts of people who were filled with faith, who faithfully followed God. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Isaiah, the Apostles, Priscilla and Acquila: all faithful followers of God despite being imperfect sinners like us. Jesus? The most faithful of all. And Jesus was filled to the rim with faith. Everything He said or did demonstrated full faith in His Father and in the forgiveness He offered.
Me? I fall way short of Jesus’ standard. I’m not faithful; I haven’t been faithful in my life in so many ways. I haven’t been full of faith. I’m not like those old heroes of the faith except for one critical commonality: I’m a sinner. Unfaithful? That’s me. That’s them. That’s you; yes, you.
When was the last time you read the Ten Commandments? If it’s been awhile, go back to Exodus 20 and give it a whirl. When you get to the seventh commandment – you shall not commit adultery – stop and think about this: when we break one commandment, we’re breaking multiple ones. When I’m unfaithful, I’m also breaking the commandments to not have any other gods, the commandment against stealing (another person’s spouse, or even the truth), the commandment against coveting, the commandment against lying. God commanded us to be like Him and we mess it up. It’s not just about marital faithfulness: God gave us commandments to not be unfaithful in any way. Break one, break all.
Contrast that with Jesus, the ultimate example of faithfulness. Save one, save all. We don’t have to live goody-goody lives to earn His saving; in fact, we can’t. He did it anyway. He saved us knowing we had violated all the conditions He told us to not violate. He did it knowing that we weren’t Biblical heroes (news flash: they weren’t us, either…we all have different, precious gifts). He did it because that’s who He is.
Because He’s faithful. Because He is full of Spirit’s faithfulness. Because faithfulness means so many things including just one and more.
For further reading: Exodus 20:1-17, Galatians 5:22-23
Lord Jesus, You are faithful and true. Blessed be Your name.
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