Faithfulness

                Most pastors I know love it when their flock is F.A.T. "Faithfull . . . Available. . .Teachable!" Please note that "faithful" is first in the list of characteristics that make a church grow and go in their own Body and in the community. "Faithful" is the seventh aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit and the one we want to meditate on today (Gal 5:22-23). A Spirit filled or controlled Christian is always faithful-sounds like the Boy Scouts, but I think they got it from the Bible.

               "Faithfulness" is talking about being dependable. According to the Expositor's Bible Commentary, faithfulness is "that which makes a person one on whom others can rely-trustworthiness and reliability." The word in the Greek comes from the root word "faith." This means that the saving faith that we exercise toward the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior sets us up to begin to become a person others can rely on because the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and wants to turn us into good servants for our Lord. Jesus describes this kind of person when He teaches, "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much (Lk 16:10). This extends itself to being a faithful giver (Lk 16:11). Additionally, our Lord says, "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own" (Lk 16:12). Jesus is telling us that if we become a person who is faithful to others, God will give us more responsibility and more of that which can be called our own so that we can use it for the advancement of His Kingdom here on earth.

               So along with "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness" (facets of the Fruit of the Spirit that we have blogged about thus far) we need to add "faithfulness." So how might we practice faithfulness this coming week? How about returning things that we have borrowed from others? Maybe we could put on the garment of servant hood figuratively (Jn 13:3-8), and serve someone in our household, in our neighborhood or in our larger community? (By the way, Dan Harris of Youth for Christ told me today that many of you volunteered to help out at the YFC City Life Youth Center the past couple of weeks!) Perhaps you could be more faithful to your confession of Christ in your thought life? This is certainly one that I am working on right now. May the Lord bless you in your faithfulness to Bible Fellowship Church. Most of us in leadership have witnessed this Fruit of the Spirit this past year in many of you.
 
 
Pastor Gil