The words faithful and faithfulness are mentioned 95 times in the New International Versions of our Bible. This tells us that these two words are being taught widely in the Bible. Faithfulness is highly extoled because it is one of God’s attributes and He wants us to be like Him. For instance, in the Old Testament, it was promised that the Messiah would come, and He did. Yearly we celebrate his incarnation, and the Bible promises that Jesus will return soon. The question is, will he find us faithful? I don’t wish that any of us would be found unfaithful, so, I’m going to share 3 lessons on how to live faithfully until Jesus comes.
1. Love His church.
“28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body.” Ephesians 5:28-30
Paul uses the Christian marriage as a metaphor of Christ and his church. The Bible teaches that God ordained marriage as the permanent and exclusive union between husband and wife. Likewise, God ordained the same unbreakable loving bond between Jesus and his church.
In marriage, the Christian husband is to care for his wife, with the same natural devotion he has for his own body. Even though his body is imperfect, he should not hate his own body but take care of it. In the same disposition, Jesus loves his imperfect church, that he is always present to protect her and look after her needs. God expects us to follow Jesus’ example. God willed that we always show up in our gathering to see our members’ needs and to make every effort to meet those needs. More importantly, we are not to love fellow members just because they are lovable, but even when they are unlovable. We love them even when it’s difficult to love.
What makes a church, attractive to outsiders is when they see the quality of love and care we have for one another. So, I encourage you to faithfully love the church as one day we will all give an account to the Lord.
2. Serve the church cheerfully.
Romans 12:3-8, “3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
The word serve occurs 58 times, while the word servant occurs 57 times in the New Testament. Christian service is one of the most important functions of the church. When we serve the Lord in His church, we are investing in the future of our children. Serve, therefore, in humility because this is the will of God. Serve where you are needed. To be truly part of the church, you must take responsibility and do something. God has given spiritual gifts to every member of the church to serve Him.
3. Give generously to the church.
“6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.
Paul gave us a simple analogy of giving. He used the agrarian principle of seed sowing. He was saying, the harvest is directly proportionate to the amount of seed you sow on your land. Seed your land frugally, you will reap poorly. If you sow bountifully, of course, you will reap bountifully. Give little, receive little. Give abundantly, the Bible promised, you will reap plentifully.
When we give, we arrange a plan of action that is done voluntarily, not half-hearted nor under compulsion. Not under pressure by someone, not coerced but to willingly give from the heart because, as John Blasé said, “our faces will be the places for telling evidence of our cheer.”[1]
[1] John Blasé, Our Daily Bread, April 2nd, 2020, https://ourdailybread.ca/cheerful-givers/
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