“Faithfulness Affirmed”

     

     Find the godliest believer on the planet, mention and affirm his or her faithfulness, and in their heart this devoted follower will quickly convey all credit to the Lord Jesus Christ and His unswerving and steadfast loyalty to His Father and His church.

    "I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He that sat upon was called faithful and true" (Revelation 22:6).

    Faithful believers are rich blessings, and we all know people whose character, countenance, and conduct consistently shine forth in devotion to God and people.  We do well to affirm such ones, recognizing their spiritual integrity to be the fruit of Holy Spirit's working, but also knowing the personal sacrifice necessary to walk in probity and trustworthiness.  The Apostle Paul frequently encouraged godly believers in his epistles, noting faith and faithfulness, while directing all honor to the Lord Jesus.  Doubtless the response of those who received Paul's affirmation would have been gratitude, but also the deep inward acknowledgement of how much more faithful they wish they were, and more importantly, how continually faithful they discover their Lord to be.  Indeed, any faithfulness in the believer begins with the awareness, affirmation, and apprehending of His faithfulness.  "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18).  

    By definition, the Christian life is the life of Christ, revealed in the hearts and lives of believers.  He is the source and supply of all true godliness.  However, we have a real role in the relationship, of faith, submission, and conscious response to God.  David in the Old Testament spoke to this union of Divine enabling and human reception - "I will love Thee, o Lord my strength!" (Psalm 18:1).  The man of God freely determined to devote himself - "I will love" - but he did so in full recognition of his Lord's strengthening - "o Lord, my strength."  Those who bless us with faithfulness to God remind us of His perfect loyalty and devotion.  We glorify Him only.  But we also recognize that faithfulness in a human heart does not result from merely being programmed like a computer.  Thus, we do well to encourage those who encourage us with the response to God that calls us by example to go further, to dive deeper, and to ascend higher in our walk with the Lord.

    We close with the remembrance that, wondrously, God Himself will one day acknowledge and affirm His trusting children's response to His presence and working in our lives…

"Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come,who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God."

(I Corinthians 4:5)

Weekly Memory Verse

    If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

(Galatians 5:25)