Be Faithful

2 Timothy 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

This morning I felt such a passion filling my heart to walk in a faithful way with the Lord.

I have been so very busy since Carie went to Holland for three weeks. It is so easy for life to be reduced to do this.... do that..... must get that done....

As I was pondering my heart's desire to please my heavenly Father the thought echoed through my mind, "You are not to be faithful to a task you are to be faithful to me."


To be faithful is more than to do what we say. Keeping our promises is a part of faithfulness but not the whole thing by far.

Faithfulness involves a heart of commitment to the one we are faithful to.


In marriage faithfulness is never only having one person we share intimacy with. I doubt if it is possible to be faithful in our hearts if we only understand it to be that.

Again, faithfulness includes being intimate with only one but it is far more than that. Like the thoughts spoken to my heart today, faithfulness is to a person not an activity.


This is why we see that some "type A" people who can be extremely task oriented and can carry out projects to their completion are not always faithful. They see it as something they do rather than someone they are. I know this well having thought that way myself.

This means they can also see a relationship as expendable if it stands in the way of the goal of the project they are called to be faithful to.


What I am going to say next may sound heretical but hear the heart.

Some activities need to be done in a partial way if doing them fully harms a relationship.


I have found this out the hard way.

In the first years of our marriage, as a young pastor, I believed faithfulness to God was something I did. I pastored a church. I "knew" this was my primary call. I thought I was to do whatever it took to be "faithful" to this call. I equated it with my faithfulness to God.

I was a disaster waiting to happen. Armed with all the scriptures on faithfulness, I could counter anyone who felt my commitment to the "church" was harming my family, my friends and most of all me.


I did not know the difference between faithfulness to a task and faithfulness to a person.


Faithfulness to a person means our activites are always conditional to the needs of the relationship. When an activity begins to steal away the life of our relationships - especially with God - the activity needs to be put aside in favor of the relationship.


I remember well the day when my beloved, who I love more than life itself, told me that she was no longer able to bear the life we lived. There was a lot about that communication that I did not have a clue she was feeling even though she had told me in countless ways. She never told me she would leave me but she did say that she had lost all the joy in our relationship that she had once known. She told me that her heart was not wanting to feel the way she did but that I had so left her for my "call" that she felt like she was little more than someone to do all that a wife does.


It was like I had been hit by a truck. I must admit that I felt a great deal of self-pity about the whole issue. I was trying so hard to meet all the expectations of being faithful to God, my wife, my children, my friends and my church. But the problem was I was being faithful to a task not a person. Like Martha I got it wrong.....

I told my wife I would do whatever it took to get our lives back on a right path. I told her I was quiting pastoral ministry and would never go back without her fully being in support and my being accountable to her in it.

We spent a wonderful year with my moving out of anything that separated us. That year's lesson on faithfulness saved our marriage. God completely restored our relationship better than ever and now we walk together in all that we do for God, listening to each other as far as the boundaries and limits, finding them together in God.

I learned that we can be as unfaithful to our spouse with a job, a hobby, our own family, our friends.... and for parents especially, our children. (Years later we walked through a similar situation as I was in with my work with her and our children.....) as you can be with a lover.

You can be the same with God.

We can even (perhaps especially) be unfaithful to God with our ministry......

Faithfulness is to a relationship not a task. Marriage is a relationship not a task. Following Jesus is a relationship not a task. 

So today when I talk about faithfulness to God it is hardly ever in the context of doing. The doing part is spending time together. It is delighting in God's presence. So this morning when I was meditating on being faithful to Him my passion was not based in a list of things to do for Him. It was to continue to find delight in our relationship. To never lose the precious place where I hear Him speak to me the thoughts of His heart.

I want to be faithful to God not just the work He has for me to do.


Luke 10:39-43 She (Martha) had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."