“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!” (Matthew 25:21 BSB)
“The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.” (1 Samuel 26:23 ESV)
“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 28:20 BSB)
Faithfulness is another fruit that is in short supply in our world. Another word for faithfulness is loyalty. If I’m not content with my job, I simply walk out and get another one. If I didn’t like today’s sermon I go to the Church down the street. If my wife doesn’t thrill me I throw her away and find someone else. More than ever, I am living in a “me” world and everything is disposable. In a “me” world there is little place given to something as outdated as faithfulness.
I have been blessed with a marriage that has passed the test of time for almost 37 years. One of the keys to our longevity has been my wife’s faithfulness. Melody has remained loyal regardless of whether I deserved it or not. I remember a couple of times when I was being an idiot of a husband. Melody just looked me in the eyes and said, “Eric, you need to figure out who you are and how you want to live so that I know who I am married to.” I think at those moments most wives would have said, “Shape up or ship out!” Not Melody, she is faithful no matter what.
The Holy Spirit will never leave me or forsake me. He remains faithful to me even when I am not faithful to Him. He freely gives me the ability to do the same. Once again, my focus needs to stay on the fruit giver and He will grow the fruit in me. I will keep growing in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 48: “I am a Fruit Grower in the Kingdom of Heaven (quality fruit to give away).” Part 8: Faithfulness