Ralph Hirschfelder

Faithfulness

By

Ralph Hirschfelder

          What is Faithfulness?  Does it matter?  Why devote energy to such an antiquated concept?   (Or is it?)   .    Our world does not typically seem to know or understand this concept.    The dictionary gives these following definitions.

 1. true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.

 2. steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends.

3. reliable, trusted, or believed.     

          Take these in, ponder them. They ALL are reflective of Gods character. He places great value on our faithfulness to him and to each other. Before he expects us to live this way, he has shown us how through his Love toward us, for as long as man has been in existence. In Genesis, God was faithful to Adam and Eve even though they were not to him. Throughout the Psalms, they sing of the many ways that God has been faithful. In the New Testament, we see again God’s faithfulness to the apostles , to Peter when he turned his back on Jesus, Jesus still gave him new chances to do it right. We see the many ways that God was faithful to Paul as well as God honored Paul’s faithfulness to him.

          God places tremendous value on faithfulness. Without it, society will crumble. Just think, when people are no longer true to their word, their promises or their vows. Marriages cannot stand, friendships fall apart, business will fall apart. Our children need us to be “steady in our allegiance or affection” to them (otherwise known as unconditional Love). In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, God tells us of many of the benefits of having “loyal, constant and faithful friends” We can stand up to much more, support each other, care for one another.

          Here at Elim we have had a lot of teaching about being “Deciples who will finish the race” and finish it well. To do this, we also need to be “reliable, trusted and believed”. The bottom line is that while faithfulness is as old as God himself, it is far from being outdated or irrelevant. “God demonstrates his Love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. He has been being faithful to us all along even though we don’t deserve it. Just think how much better our marriages, relationships, friendships and everything would be if we were found faithful in all we do. Seek to be faithful to him and he will help you to be faithful to everyone else.