And Running…And Running…

(If you haven’t read the previous blog (from Matt Patrick) you need to do so…because this builds on what he wrote…)

As we journey through Corinthians together a word that keeps surfacing again and again is…faithfulness.  Jesus is faithful (1 Cor. 1:9);  leaders are called to be faithful (1 Cor. 4:2); disciples should be faithful (1 Cor. 4:17) and the Father is faithful (1 Cor. 10:13).

So what does faithfulness look like?  How about the men who get up early (VERY early) every Tuesday morning to come to Men’s Fraternity…in order to grow and become the husbands, fathers, brothers and friends that we’re called to be.  Or the countless people who serve inside the walls of Grace thorough programs like the Journey, bringing (and food and filling backpacks) for Backpack Blessings, or who serve week in and week out each Sunday morning to keep the wheels turning around here.  Or the folks who serve outside the walls of Grace by leading small groups, mentoring others, serving in civic groups and helping out a neighbor or co-worker when they need it the most.  Faithfulness is a husband or wife who stay in a marriage when (not IF) it gets hard because they made a covenant with that person and with God for the long haul.  Faithfulness is the person who goes to work each day to a job they dislike and a work environment that brings difficulty and struggle.  Faithfulness is the person who does the right thing because it’s the right thing and it honors the audience of One whom they live their life for…and the list could go on and on.

We are enjoying a rich season at Grace of growth on seemingly every level.  Ministry opportunities (like a community garden, community health clinics, and Compassion Rockwood) keep presenting themselves to us.  Folks are finding freedom from addictions, choosing obedience over comfort, staying in relationships that are tough, and finding hope in the midst of pain.  Lives are being given to Christ.  Gracers are telling the Jesus story to family and friends.  Ministries and our Sunday morning worship services are growing numerically as our church engages the community and lives out the mission Jesus has called us too.  And this list could go on as well.

Yet I have personally been reminded that a common thread that runs through all of these situations is…faithfulness.  Elders have led and served faithfully over the years.  Pastoral staff have shepherded wisely and perseveringly.  Our church body has ministered faithfully…pursued unity faithfully…taken risks faithfully…confronted and confessed sin faithfully…followed Jesus…faithfully.  I’m not saying we’re perfect or that we’ve arrived but this church family over the years has been…faithful.

It’s what we’re all called to…it’s who God is…it is what He does.  Jesus was faithful to the Father and what He was called to do…He was faithful to us through the cross, dying an excruciating, humiliating, horrendous death so we could have our sins taken away and His righteousness given to us (2 Cor. 5:21).  Our Father is faithful to His truth, faithful to His promises, faithful to us, His people.

As God is faithful, so we should be too.  And we can be because Jesus empowers us, through His Spirit, to live faithfully.  And I’m thankful for a church family who is faithful to the One who has called each one of us; faithful to the mission that He has set before us.  And who are faithful to run the race that He has set before us (Heb. 12:1-3).

MY ENCOURAGMENT TO YOU, GRACE, WOULD BE …BE FAITHFUL!  First, to the One who has called you into His family.  To the mission He has set before us.  To the people He has put in your life.  To future and hope that He calls us to.   As our Lord Himself reminds us through His words to the Corinthians (and us):

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:58