God’s faithfulness is overwhelming in its changeless infinity. “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds (Psalms 36:5).” He is constant perfection, steady love, and unfailing sustenance.
 |
| Photo Credit |
God’s faithfulness is never more colossal, though, than when compared to my faithfulness. My “faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away (Hosea 6:4b).” Where He is true fidelity, I am but a crumbling façade. Where He is constance and exactness personified, I am but the ill-formed consonants from a childish hand, every line shaky, every shape different. Where He is firm in His allegiance, I am soft. Where He is sincere, honest, and worthy of belief, I am temperamental, disloyal, and faltering.
One of the sermons I remember distinctly from my single-digit years was that of a young man of our church, preaching on faithfulness. One sentence from him was letterpressed into my brain, and has not left over a decade later: “Faithfulness is not faithful if it is broken by even one instance of faithlessness.” As a child, I wondered how I could possibly be faithful, if this was the standard. God’s faithfulness as the standard for faithfulness finds my two month spasms of daily Bible reading and two day spurts of “not sinning” and two minute chances of evangelizing entirely wanting. I Corinthians 13:8 brings things to a head very succinctly: "Love never fails."
Verified: I am unfaithful. God is faithful. I am called to faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-25).
From my weakness, humiliation, and shame emerges good news, for God has said to me,
“'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (II Corinthians 12:9).”
I am called to faithfulness in a faithless world. I am called to loyalty, but I have personal experience in backbiting and gossiping. I am called to constancy today, tomorrow, and until the day I die, for the glory of God. I who cannot toe a straight line, much less draw one. God, I am undone, but You are not. All-sufficient, faithful to the end of the age—You are my great Teacher. You have already said, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).”
As a reporter taunted Clarence Jordan for the previous night’s fiery and racist-driven destruction of Jordan’s farm (a safe-haven for the poor of all color), he said, "'Well, Dr. Jordan, you got two of them Ph.D.'s and you've put fourteen years into this farm, and there's nothing left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you've been?'
“Clarence stopped hoeing, turned toward the reporter with his penetrating blue eyes, and said quietly but firmly, ‘About as successful as the cross. Sir, I don’t think you understand us. What we are about is not success but faithfulness. We’re staying. Good day[1].’”
[1] Hansel, Tim. Holy Sweat. Waco
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved
After a day of feeling like a total spiritual failure, this was just what I needed to read. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Aimee
Aimee--You probably related because I know just what you're talking about from personal experience! We've all been there. We all ARE there. Thank goodness for God's faithfulness despite our lack thereof!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words of encouragement Mikaela--they are most appreciated!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Aimee