In Proverbs 28:20 we read that "A faithful man will abound with
blessings". In the New Testament the highest commendation that could be
given to a Christian man was to call him "faithful". Paul called
Timothy "faithful in the Lord" (1 Cor 4:17). He called Tychicus "a
faithful minister in the Lord" (Eph 6:21), and he called Onesimus "the
faithful and beloved brother" (Col 4:9).
In writing to the Ephesians he addressed his letter to "the
faithful in Christ Jesus" (Eph 1:1). In writing to the Colossians he
wrote "to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at
Colossae" (Col 1:2). In Revelation 17:14 John described the members of
the church triumphant, those who are with Christ in the glory, as those
who are "called, chosen and faithful".
Faithful at work
When we speak of a man who is faithful in the work place we have
in mind a man who can be trusted to do his level best under all
circumstances. Others can depend on him. He has made a bond with
himself, a bond with his own self-respect, a bond with his own
conscience that he will never let anyone down. He is always, and at
all times, completely reliable and trustworthy.
A Christian is called on to be like that. A Christian should be
faithful in everything he does, and should count nothing that he does
so small that it does not deserve the very best that he can do. The
Bible says such a man will "abound with blessings". And so he shall
with the blessings of an enhanced self-respect, and with the
respect and appreciation of all whom he serves.
Faithfulness in our daily work, whatever that work may be, and
however humble it may be, is one of the essential characteristics of
the true Christian.
Faithfulness in friendship
We read in the Book of Ecclesiasticus, that "he who has found a
faithful friend has found a treasure. There is nothing that can be
taken in exchange for a faithful friend, his excellence is beyond
price. He is the medicine of life". How true this is! It is so very
wonderful to have a faithful friend who knows all about us, yet loves
us, and trusts us, just the same.
Surely this is also a characteristic of the Christian? God
expects us to be faithful to our friends, to stand by our friends, to
help our friends. For, after all, our friends have been given to us by
God. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American essayist, wrote "My friends have
come to me unsought, the great God gave them to me." We talk of
choosing our friends, but, in a deep way, they really have been chosen
for us by God.
Michael Montague, the 16th Century French writer, wrote this
concerning a friend: "If I am pressed to give a reason why I loved him
I find it cannot be expressed otherwise than by saying, 'Because it was
he: because it was I'." We all feel the truth of that statement
concerning our closest friendships. These loved men and women have been
given to us by the great Giver of all that is good and lovely.
That is why the Christian must be faithful in friendship, and, if
so, he or she "will abound with blessings.
Faithful in marriage
The vows we make with ourselves, and with our friends, are
unspoken, but the vows we make on our wedding day are spoken before
God, and before men. On that day we vow "to love and to cherish till
death us do part." If only married people would remember these vows,
and live up to them!
Bertrand Russell wrote cynically in his book The New Generation:
"I give it as my sober and thoughtful judgment that an insane asylum is
a place of peace and repose and sweet reasonableness compared with the
institution of marriage as generally practised."
This can well be true in some cases, but it must never be true of
Christian marriage. The faithful Christian man, and Christian woman,
are not only faithful in the area of sex, but also in every other area.
They truly love and cherish each other from their wedding day until
death. Such a marriage will indeed "abound with blessings".
Faithful to our families
It is a tragic fact that some families, when the children reach
adulthood, drift apart. When I was a minister in Scotland I did my best
to reconcile a family in this dreadful situation. A woman had been
deserted by her husband, and was then deserted, one by one, by her
adult children.
There they all were in that small town, going their separate
ways, ignoring one another; and nothing I could do would reconcile
them. This should never be true of the Christian family. As God, for
Christ's sake, has forgiven us, so must we learn to forgive one another
(Eph 4:32), especially those bound to us by the sacred ties of blood.
Faithful to our church
There is no vow more sacred than the one we take when we join a
church. There is a proper place for constructive criticism in a church
or assembly, but we must ever remember that our fellowship is made up
of frail and sinful people like ourselves, and that what they need,
above all, is our loyal and faithful support. This is especially true
of our leaders and pastor.
The faithful church member will "abound with blessing" poured out
on him or her by fellow believers.
Faithful to our God
"The Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant
and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments"
(Deut 7:9). "His compassions fail not. They are new every morning,
great is thy faithfulness" (Lam 3:23).
Our wonderful God is at all times faithful towards us. Out of
sheer gratitude the faithful Christian man should have this
overwhelming desire to be at all times faithful to Him. Even more
important than any other faithfulness must be our faithfulness to God,
so that one day we may hear His word, "Well done thou good and faithful
servant, enter thou in the joy of thy Lord?" (Mt 25:21 AV).
Tuesday
PSALM 136
"His steadfast love endures for ever" (v3). The Hebrew word
"chesed", translated here as "steadfast love", in the AV as "mercy",
and in the Berkeley version as "covenant love", is one of the great
words of the Bible.
One aspect of its meaning is "faithfulness"; in the sense that
our God is absolutely reliable, is always constant in his love, and is
not given to fickleness.
In Psalm 36:5 we read, "Thy steadfast love, O Lord, extends to
the heavens, thy faithfulness to the clouds"; and in Psalm 100:5, "The
Lord is good; His steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness
to all generations."
This faithfulness of God, his constancy and reliability, is often
compared, in the Psalms, to a rock. "I will ascribe greatness to our
God, the Rock . . . a God of faithfulness" (Deut 32:3-4). "The Lord is
my rock" (Ps 18:2). See also Psalms 19:14; 31:3; 42:9; 71:3).
It is one of our deepest joys to know that we can depend on God's
convenant love in all the changing circumstances of life.
Wednesday
THESSALONIANS 5:12-28
"He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it" (v24). In the
New Testament God's faithfulness, as in the Old Testament, can never be
affected by man's faithlessness. "If we are faithless, He remains
faithful for he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim 2:13).
Our faithful God "will sustain you to the end" (1 Cor 1:8), and
will fulfil all his promises to you, "for He who promised is faithful"
(Heb 10:23). See Hebrews 11:11. We depend on the faithfulness of God
for our pardon, "for He is faithful and just, and will forgive our
sins" (1 Jn 1:9). We depend on the faithfulness of God for every aspect
of our salvation, for our being found "in Christ" for time and for
eternity.
"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of
his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor 1:9).
Thursday
NUMBERS 12:1-16
"My servant Moses . . . is faithful in all my house" (v7 AV). In
the Old Testament Moses is described as being a man on whom the Lord
could depend under all circumstances. He was as firm as a rock no
matter how violent the storm that beat on him.
In our reading his unique position as the spokesman of God was
denied by Aaron and Miriam. They said, "Has the Lord indeed spoken only
through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" (v2). But the Lord
vindicated Moses with the words, "With him I speak mouth to mouth"
(v8).
This was not true in their case. They might receive communication
by vision and dream (v6), but Moses enjoyed a direct revelation. The
"house" of verse seven was the house of Israel. Moses, as the chief
steward of that house, was in all respects a faithful man, for "it is
required in stewards that a man be found faithful".
God never failed him, and he, except for one incident (Num
20:12), never failed God.
Friday
HEBREWS 3
"He was faithful to Him who appointed him" (v2). In the New
Testament the supreme man of faith was Jesus Christ himself. Moses "was
faithful in God's house" (v2) but he was faithful "as a servant" (v5),
whereas "Christ was faithful over God's house as a son" (v6).
In the time of Moses the "house" was the house of Israel, but as
from the time of Christ the "house" is "the household of God", which
embraces all believers from Abel (Heb 11:4) through to Gentile
believers. "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but are
fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God"
(Eph 2:19).
Jesus is called "the faithful witness" (Rev 1:5), and "Faithful
and True" (Rev 19:11), because he was utterly and completely obedient
to the will of God (Heb 10:7). He did not deviate in the slightest from
the plan of the Father (Lk 9:51). He said, "I always do what is
pleasing to Him" (Jan 8:29). The faithful Christian is one who follows
in the footsteps of a faithful Saviour.
Saturday
2 TIMOTHY 4:6-22
This reading tells us of the deep disappointments suffered by
Paul as he lay in prison awaiting the summons to be tried, and to
suffer death. "Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me"
(v9). "Only Luke is with me" (v11). "Alexander the coppersmith did me
great harm" (v14). "At my first defence no one took my part; all
deserted me" (v16).
Deep disappointments try the faithful man to the very depths of
his being. Being loyal himself he expects others to be loyal to him.
Loving others he expects others to love him. As one who stands by his
friends in their time of trial he trusts others to stand by him in his
time of trial. What he has dispensed to others he expects to receive in
return.
Despite his wounds Paul was able to say, with quiet confidence,
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me"
(v7-8).
Sunday
LUKE 9:57-62
The first man in this passage of scripture had been a hearer, now
he wanted to be a permanent disciple. In His reply Jesus warned him
regarding the privations he would suffer. The enthusiasm of the moment
is not enough to make a Christian. There must also be the determination
to follow Jesus whatever the cost.
The second man put his duty of caring for his aged father before
the privilege of being a disciple. Probably his father was not yet
dead, and the man's reply should be understood as, "I will follow you
after my father has died. I will then be free to do so."
No earthly duty should be allowed to stand in the way of obeying
the Lord's command to "Follow me". The third man wanted time to "say
farewell to those at my home" (v61). Jesus replied, "No one who puts
his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God"
(v62). This, in effect, meant, "I accept no lukewarm service. You must
be entirely devoted to me, with no looking back to the past."
Monday
LUKE 16:10-13
"He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much"
(v10). In the Christian life it is very important for the new convert
to understand that Christian faithfulness extends to every aspect of
life, to the trivial as well as to matters of greater importance.
Whatever our hands find to do we must do with all our might. It
may well be such humble tasks as sweeping out the church hall, tidying
up after everyone else has gone home, washing dishes, bringing a
"plate" to a church function. Faithfulness in humble tasks leads to the
Lord saying, "Friend, go up higher" (Lk 14:10). The faithful Sunday
school teacher makes a faithful Bible Class leader, a faithful Bible
Class leader makes a faithful deacon, pastor or superintendent.
But perhaps we never do become a leader in our fellowship. Never
mind. Our faithfulness in whatever we do is what really matters. "Be
thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev
2:10).
