“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3).
The first characteristic of a disciple of Jesus is faithfulness.
What does it mean to be faithful? What does faithfulness look like? How can one be faithful?
The Hebrew word for faithfulness is emeth. This word primarily means firmness, faithfulness, and truth. It speaks of someone or something that is reliable, sure, and stable.
There are a couple of things to be aware regarding faithfulness:
- First, being faithful is not the same thing as being perfect. The only one who has ever been truly and perfectly faithful is Christ. This doesn’t mean that what’s required of us is well-meaning or wishful thinking. We should be reliable, sure, true, firm, and faithful. We should be able to be counted on. Without faithfulness, truth, and reliability, relationships break down. Trust breaks down.
Faithful people can be counted on. - Second, being faithfulness is pre-determinedness. Let me explain. If you wait until a moral, spiritual, relational situation where faithfulness, truthfulness, firmness, reliableness, sureness is required to determine to be faithful, you are asking for trouble. When it comes to being faithful, this is something that needs to be decided upon long before a compromising situation arises.
Being faithful to God is a predetermined decision.
You choose to be faithful long before a situation that requires your faithfulness arises. If you’ve predetermined to be faithful, then when a compromising situation arises, you don’t even have to think about it. The decision to be faithful has already been made. Compromise is not even an option because you’ve already predetermined to be faithful.
Do you get how faithfulness works?
The first characteristic of a disciple/follower of Jesus Christ is faithfulness.
Imagine these words describing every Christ follower:
- Firm
- True
- Faithful
- Reliable
- Sure
- Stable
F.A.T. Disciples – Faithful.
Praxis: Faith in Action 