A Long Walk Through... Ephesians: Faithfulness

Scott Hamilton

by Scott Hamilton on Thursday, 11th January 2018

Faithfulness never sounds glamorous. It is being willing to stay, ready to keep going, invested, persevering, steadfast... that kind of thing. In a constantly changing, fast moving, chase every opportunity you can world it is a rarely prized character commodity.

Yet right here in verse 1 it is the character quality that God's Word anticipates belonging to those who are set apart by Jesus. Not prized by the world but precious in the sight of the One we worship.

If you are set apart for Jesus you stay close and stay the course with Jesus. That's what faithfulness encourages us to do today.

Stay close to Jesus. Not chasing after other things in the pursuit of fulfillment or with the desire for them to satisfy some longing that you have. In many ways it flows from having a right view of Jesus. It is the 'fix your eyes upon Jesus' approach to things, because when you see who He is, when you read God's Word and see how magnificent He is, when you are capticated by His glory and grace 'the things of Earth grow strangely dim.' Today, stay close, dont stray. Abide with Him don't abandon your heart to the pursuit of something less.

Stay the course with Jesus. Don't give up. You have experienced God's steadfast love. His unmoveable, never changing, never failing, everlasting love. Why would you give that up? How would you become so wearied of staying close to Him that you you settle for anything else. Stay the course. His grace is designed ot be fuel for your faithfulness.

That's why it calls you here to be 'faithful in Christ Jesus.' The two-fold point seems to be. He is the One who is worthy of our ultimate allegiance and commitment. In myself I can't be faithful; I need His help. I can be faithful because He is first faithful. Faithfulness is fuel for faithfulness. And it carries forward. My faithfulness to Jesus is fuel for faithfulness in my marriage, in the church and as I set about my work.

So stay close to Jesus and stay the course for Jesus. He is the stability you need and the One who you are called to steadfastly pursue. As another song goes, 'His love never fails, it never runs out, it never gives up on me.' As He helps me may that be true of me towards Him today.