It’s October! But you wouldn’t know it around here — it’s 100 degrees today! Summer is definitely my least favorite season, so I’m aching for fall. All I want soup and sweaters and scarves and gray days. Instead, I get sweat and sunburns. It just ain’t right.
But even though the weather isn’t saying October, the calendar says it’s now my month of cultivating faithfulness!
Faithfulness is far-reaching in the Bible, both for us and for God. Over and over, the Bible says that God is faithful to his people. This faithfulness to us should free us from thinking that we can do anything to lose God’s love. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” He is faithful to his kids.
Our faithfulness, however, is definitely a fickle thing. When we think about the broader meaning of faithfulness, many times we refer to our relationships — we are faithful when we do not cheat on our significant others. That’s true whether it’s physical adultery or lust within our hearts (Matthew 5:8). God uses the image of adultery over and over when his people Israel rebel and go against him — Israel (and us) are a cheating bride. They have no faith; they won’t see their relationship through. We do this all the time, both to God and to those around us. We are a capricious people and we put our faith in whatever is most important to us in the moment, forsaking the truly valuable things.
But how can we be faithful to God first and foremost, and faithful to the other important things in our lives, when we are putting things, ambitions, and our own selfishness first? Our checkbooks and our calendars tell us what is important to us — if you’re anything like me, my priorities look a little skewed when I look at where I’m putting my money and my time. This month, I am going to seek out increasing my faithfulness to God, to my church, and to my family and friends. I want to be able to sacrifice and give up my own comforts and needs to be faithful to God’s calling.
I think it’s going to be an interesting and fruitful month!
Now if it would only cool off…
The diversion program I work with teaches Faith/Fidelity as one of the virtues needed in life. One of the things we say is it is about is being trustworthy people. The kind of people that can be taken at our word. I don’t need to swear to something, instead people know it is me, and can trust what I say can be taken at face value. I love seeing the kids begin to absorb the concept when we talk about all the little ways that we lie. Everything from saying “I’m fine” when we’re not or fudging the truth just a little. When I think about me and God and faithfulness I think about becoming the person that he can trust with much and with little. Becoming the person he can trust to represent his son well. The one he can trust broken people with. Becoming the person he can trust to put his kingdom first. It is interesting that we often talk about trying to trust God more, and fail to talk about how we can be more trustworthy. I can’t wait to see where you go with this.
Thanks Bekki! I really am coming to understand the faith and fidelity part of teaching children. I watch my friends who trust their kids to make smart choices — those kids generally actually make smart choices. Because mom and dad trust them. It’s amazing how trust begets faithfulness.
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