Poul Madsen
WITH the years we advance in age, but the passage of time gives no automatic growth in the kingdom of God for with Him faithfulness is more important than age. Whether we can have more committed to us is dependent upon whether we have been faithful stewards with what we already have from God. Faithfulness is a rare quality. There are many well-meaning and enthusiastic Christians but there sometimes appears to be rather a scarcity of truly faithful men and women. It is worthwhile to consider some features of faithfulness.
1. Endurance of Love
Faithfulness has to do with endurance, and both spring from love, for it is love that never fails. If we are unfaithful it is because we do not really love the one concerned, for how can we give up when it is stated that love never does so.
Love which gives up exposes itself as being false. It has never been love for had it been it would never have failed. It must have been self-love in disguise, using the beautiful language but lacking the reality. Similarly, if faithfulness fails, it exposes itself; it has never been the real thing, for faithfulness which only lasts for a time, never was even faithfulness while it lasted, but disguised self-interest. You cannot love up to 90% and you cannot be 90% faithful. Enduring love and faithfulness are absolutes and know no limits. A man who leaves his wife after twenty years of marriage has not loved that wife for twenty years and then stopped loving her; he has never really loved her.
We know that in the case of the Lord we are told that this is His very nature: "He remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). The reason why He is faithful to us and never gives us up is not found in us, but exclusively in Him -- that is what He is like. We ought not to demand faithfulness in others as a condition for showing it ourselves, nor excuse ourselves if we find it lacking in others. It is easy to think, 'Well, if he is unfaithful to me, why should I be faithful to him?' but this is not a Christian attitude, since he may find the fount of faithfulness in our Lord Jesus Christ. When we look at Him, the inclination to give up disappears, and we are freshly inspired to endure.
2. Unsensational
But what does a Christian accomplish by his faithfulness? This is really beside the point, for the most important thing is not what we accomplish, but what we are. Many of the most faithful people do not seem to have much success to boast about. Those who aspire to be faithful must be prepared for a life hidden with Christ. For example, the faithful intercessors may find their work hidden from the public eye. But just wait until the Day of the Lord comes! It will be then, and perhaps not until then, that the Lord can give His verdict: "Well done, good and faithful servant". It could be that some who seemed most successful and received great publicity will hardly be noticed then.
It is especially important that we should be faithful in small things -- 'faithful in that which is least'. It is a joy to think of the modest Christians who do not advertise themselves or their works -- do not even publish a magazine, as I do -- but who are simply faithful, enduring, loving and self-forgetful, who can always be counted on. These are the pillars of the Church; the vessels unto honour in God's House.
There is something unsensational in faithfulness: it does not arrest attention. But God notices it. We have no means of knowing whether He takes much notice of sensational events. Faithfulness continues to burn steadily rather than flaring up at intervals and then dying down. There can be a lot of difference between just beginning something and then turning to something else, and carrying a matter right on to its completion. Of Moses it is said that he was faithful in all God's house as a servant and of Christ that He was faithful as a Son over His house. It appears that nothing greater can be said of any person than that he or she was faithful to the end.
3. Personal
Faithfulness is a personal quality; we cannot give it to others or receive it from them. It does not attach much value to crowds but focuses on the individual. So does God. In the crowd, personal values can easily disappear, as in mass Christianity or mass movements, but on the great Day, when we will appear before the [61/62]judgment seat of Christ, we will do so one by one, with each giving an account of himself.
