Colossians 1:2
To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the greatest needs in the church today are faithful brethren. Paul commended the church at Colosse because of their faithfulness in Christ. Not only did he commend the church, but he also commended the pastor of that church. He said about the pastor in verse 7, As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; From the leadership to the church pew, the church of Colosse was a faithful church in Christ.
If a church is to be what God wants it to be, the pastor and the people must be faithful brethren in Christ. Faithfulness to Christ is not a gift; it a conscious choice to show up and serve God no matter how you feel. Paul never said it was easy to be faithful; rather, it was likely hard to be faithful because faithfulness is not measured in times of ease, but faithfulness is measured when it is difficult to be faithful. Let me share several thoughts about faithfulness that apply to your walk with Christ.
First, being faithful in Christ should be your paramount purpose. Many are faithful to other things, but Christ should be the one you are faithful to above anything else. I believe you ought to be faithful to your job, to paying your bills, to your spouse, and to obligations, but faithfulness to Christ should be at the top of your list to which you are faithful.
One reason churches struggle is the unfaithfulness of God’s people. It is amazing how people are unfaithful to church services, but they expect God to be faithful to them in their time of need. It is amazing how believers are unfaithful to tithe, but they expect God to be faithful to supply all their need. My friend, the fact that God is faithful should cause you to be faithful to Him.
Second, faithfulness is a decision. You must choose to be faithful. When you choose to be faithful is when you will choose to do what you are supposed to do for God when you don't feel like doing it. There are many times I don't feel like reading the Scriptures early in the morning, but I read them because I have chosen to be faithful. There have been plenty of times when I did not feel like going soul winning, but I went because I made a decision to be faithful to God no matter how I feel. You will never be faithful to God until you make the decision to be faithful and stick with that decision.
Third, faithfulness is showing up when you are supposed to show up. All it takes to be faithful is to be where you are supposed to be and to do what you are supposed to do. Many churches struggle week-to-week filling duties that the unfaithful are supposed to fill. One can only imagine what would happen in our nation if all of God’s people showed up all the time and did what they were supposed to do every week.
Fourth, faithfulness shows your mindset toward Christ. If you are not faithful in Christ, you are showing your low esteem for Christ. You cannot tell me that Christ is first in your life when you treat Him as second-rate. Faithfulness would not be hard if Christ sat on the throne of your heart ruling your life. When you let Christ be the ruler of your life is when faithfulness to what you do for Him will be easy to do, even in those times when you don't feel like doing them.
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