Truth Plus Loveنموونە

D. L. Moody once said, “Out of 100 people outside the church, one might pick up a Bible and read it, but 99 will read the Christian.” People come to know who Jesus is by looking at our lives.

God wants us to be full of the fruit of the Spirit because it reflects His character to the world. God calls us to the fruit of the Spirit because He is faithful and He is good (see 1 Corinthians 1:9). He not only calls us to truth; He also calls us to faithfulness.

Do you ever look into your ancestry? I have discovered some amazing and faithful believers in my wife’s and my heritage whose faithfulness to God and their families inspire me to no end. People who live lives of faithfulness not only affect their own story—their faithfulness also affects their entire family, and everyone around them, including many generations to come after them. 

If looking back at your ancestors is painful because they did not live well, know that you can begin a new generational legacy.You may have grown up in a family that did not know and follow God. Beginning with you, the tide can be turned for the generations that follow you. As you begin to love, pray for, and teach biblical wisdom to your family, you can become a shining example of what the gospel can do in a family.

When you can see the blessings of God over a lifetime, you get a glimpse of the bigger picture of what a legacy of faithfulness looks like. All the blessings of God don’t come into your life immediately after becoming a Christian—there are countless blessings if you will stay on the right path and keep being faithful over a lifetime.

Here is where faithfulness starts:

·  Be faithful in the little things. 

·  Focus on obeying Jesus in the areas of your life that no one sees. 

·  Work at keeping your word and finishing what you start.

·  If you struggle in your faith, or fail in your walk with the Lord, get back up. Never stop repenting and asking God to work in you.

·  Remember that God has a great purpose for your life. Always look for ways to use your gifts, and influence to serve and honor Him. 

Our faithfulness points to and reflects the faithfulness of God to the world. When we live lives of faithfulness over the long haul, we will gain influence with people around us: our family,our  neighborhood, our workplace, and our world.

Respond

Who is someone you know who has lived a life of faithfulness to God? What can you pick up or learn from them to help you have this same faithfulness?

What little things can you work to be faithful in? How can faithfulness in these areas build your character?

What areas of your life are you quietly struggling to submit to the Lord? How can you move forward in faithfulness to God in those areas even when no one else sees?