Annus fidelis – beloved and faithful

For this first article of 2010, I will return to a word that God gave us at the end of 2009. On the last Sunday of 2009, as we thanked God for His faithfulness throughout 2009, a word came to us: The Lord asked us if at the end of 2010 we would have the opportunity not only to testify that He was faithful, but also to testify that we were faithful. And ever since, it has been on my mind. I think about faithfulness, I meditate on faithfulness, I eat and drink faithfulness. And that was naturally the subject of Sunday's sermon, and we will continue next Sunday.

We must realize that there are things that God expects of us. All the assurance we have in God regarding his goodness, his salvation, his blessings, is dependent on his faithfulness, his constancy. If He changed His mind every moment, if He had inexplicable mood swings, we would be constantly on the lookout without the certainty of being able to count on Him for anything. But He is reliable, constant and faithful. And He asks us to'be the same, constant, reliable, faithful, like Paul who dared to declare that God established him in the ministry because He judged him faithful. How many of us have the same testimony? And when we think of Paul, we inevitably think of the indescribable tribulations he experienced, and this, not because of his own stupidity (unlike us most of the time) but because of his unwavering commitment to the gospel of Jesus.

Too often we want to do 'the ministry,' but we can't stand the pain, the rejection, not being front and center, and we give up and stop being faithful. It's estimated that several thousand pastors leave the ministry each year, weary of all the tribulations they encounter. I feel a holy jealousy toward the apostle Paul on many levels, especially his faithfulness and consistency. He experienced horrors because of the name of Jesus, and yet he didn't give up. And his son Timothy was the same. Paul calls him his beloved and faithful son. Many are certainly beloved but are not faithful. It is the dream of every servant of God, to have beloved sons who are also faithful.

And that's what God wants: reliable people He can count on, who don't swear absolute loyalty today only to disappear tomorrow; people He can entrust with a task and know that they will follow through and not give up halfway. Too often, God's plans are thwarted because His children are unstable; one day they're on fire, passionate, and another day getting them to a prayer meeting is a feat when they're convinced that God approves of their stupidity. This year, 2010, think about becoming people who are faithful to God and His plans. Decide whose example you're going to follow.

Timothy was the beloved and faithful son. But while Timothy was faithful, Demas was not. Paul said of him, 'Demas has forsaken me.' Terrible, if Demas had known that generations of Christians would experience his perfidy, he would have been more careful. Then there is Diotrephes, described by the apostle John as always wanting to be first and who did not receive him. But another Demetrius received a good report from all. The wonderful thing is that God forgives; this is generally considered to be the same John Mark whom Paul did not wish to take with him on his missionary journey because he had previously abandoned them (which caused the separation from Barnabas), whom he later describes as being 'useful' to him in the ministry.

I pray, then, that at the end of this year God may bear witness to us as Paul did to Timothy, that we are beloved and faithful children.

Selah!